Axial Tubule Junctions Activate Atrial Ca2+ Release Across Species

Year: 2018

Authors: Brandenburg S., Pawlowitz J., Fakuade F.E., Kownatzki-Danger D., Kohl T., Mitronova G.Y., Scardigli M., Neef J., Schmidt C., Wiedmann F., Pavone F.S., Sacconi L., Kutschka I., Sossalla S., Moser T., Voigt N., Lehnart S.E.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Med Ctr Gottingen, Dept Cardiol & Pneumol, Heart Res Ctr Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany; Univ Med Ctr Gottingen, Inst Pharmacol & Toxicol, Heart Res Ctr Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany; Max Planck Inst Biophys Chem, Dept NanoBiophoton, Gottingen, Germany; European Lab Nonlinear Spect, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CNR, Natl Inst Opt I NO, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Med Ctr Gottingen, Inst Auditory Neurosci & InnerEarLab, Gottingen, Germany; Univ Hosp Heidelberg, Dept Cardiol, Heidelberg, Germany; Heidelberg Univ, DZHK German Ctr Cardiovasc Res, Partner Site Heidelberg Mannheim, Heidelberg, Germany; Univ Hosp Heidelberg, Heidelberg Ctr Heart Rhythm Disorders, Heidelberg, Germany; Univ Florence, Dept Phys, Florence, Italy; Univ Med Ctr Gottingen, Dept Cardiothorac & Vasc Surg, Gottingen, Germany; DZHK German Ctr Cardiovasc Res, Partner Site Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany; Univ Maryland, Sch Med, Ctr Biomed Engn & Technol, BioMET, Baltimore, MD 21201 USA; Univ Hosp Regensburg, Dept Internal Med 2, Cardiol Pneumol Intens Care, Regensburg, Germany.

Abstract: Rationale: Recently, abundant axial tubule (AT) membrane structures were identified deep inside atrial myocytes (AMs). Upon excitation, ATs rapidly activate intracellular Ca2+ release and sarcomeric contraction through extensive AT junctions, a cell-specific atrial mechanism. While AT junctions with the sarcoplasmic reticulum contain unusually large clusters of ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) Ca2+ release channels in mouse AMs, it remains unclear if similar protein networks and membrane structures exist across species, particularly those relevant for atrial disease modeling. Objective: To examine and quantitatively analyze the architecture of AT membrane structures and associated Ca2+ signaling proteins across species from mouse to human. Methods and Results: We developed superresolution microscopy (nanoscopy) strategies for intact live AMs based on a new custom-made photostable cholesterol dye and immunofluorescence imaging of membraneous structures and membrane proteins in fixed tissue sections from human, porcine, and rodent atria. Consistently, in mouse, rat, and rabbit AMs, intact cell-wide tubule networks continuous with the surface membrane were observed, mainly composed of ATs. Moreover, co-immunofluorescence nanoscopy showed L-type Ca2+ channel clusters adjacent to extensive junctional RyR2 clusters at ATs. However, only junctional RyR2 clusters were highly phosphorylated and may thus prime Ca2+ release at ATs, locally for rapid signal amplification. While the density of the integrated L-type Ca2+ current was similar in human and mouse AMs, the intracellular Ca2+ transient showed quantitative differences. Importantly, local intracellular Ca2+ release from AT junctions occurred through instantaneous action potential propagation via transverse tubules (TTs) from the surface membrane. Hence, sparse TTs were sufficient as electrical conduits for rapid activation of Ca2+ release through ATs. Nanoscopy of atrial tissue sections confirmed abundant ATs as the major network component of AMs, particularly in human atrial tissue sections. Conclusion: AT junctions represent a conserved, cell-specific membrane structure for rapid excitation-contraction coupling throughout a representative spectrum of species including human. Since ATs provide the major excitable membrane network component in AMs, a new model of atrial “super-hub” Ca2+ signaling may apply across biomedically relevant species, opening avenues for future investigations about atrial disease mechanisms and therapeutic targeting.

Journal/Review: FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY

Volume: 9      Pages from: 1227-1  to: 1227-21

More Information: SB received financial support through the clinician scientist program Translational Medicine of the University Medical Center Gottingen. This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to SEL (SFB1002 project A09 and service project S02, and SFB1190 project P03), to NV (VO 1568/3-1, IRTG1816, and SFB1002 project A13), to CS (SCHM 3358/1-1), and to TM (SFB889 project A02); by the Else-Kroner-Fresenius Foundation to NV (EKFS 2016_A20), and by DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) to SEL (DZHK GOE MD3) and CS (Excellence Grant). CS was supported in part by res earch grants from the University of Heidelberg, Faculty of Medicine (Rahel Goitein-Straus Scholarship and Olympia-Morata Scholarship), and from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Wurttemberg (Sonderlinie Medizin to CS). FW was supported by the German Cardiac Society (Fellowship and Otto-Hess-Scholarship).
KeyWords: atria; atrial myocyte; axial tubule; calcium; heart; ryanodine receptor
DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01227

ImpactFactor: 3.201
Citations: 34
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-10-06
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)

Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here