Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 35, Issue 2 , Pages 209-218 , February 2009

Reducing the Cyclic Variations of Ultrasonic Integrated Backscatters and Myocardial Electrical Synchronism by Reversibly Blocking Intercellular Communications with Heptanol

  • Lung-Chun Lin

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Chau-Chung Wu

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Mao-Shin Lin

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Shien-Fong Lin

      Affiliations

    • The Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
    • ,
  • Yen-Bin Liu

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to: Yen-Bin Liu, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 10016, Taiwan

Received 11 March 2008 ,Revised 27 July 2008 ,Accepted 23 August 2008.

References 

  1. Bastide B, Herve JC, Cronier L, Deleze J. Rapid onset and calcium independence of the gap junction uncoupling induced by heptanol in cultured heart cells. Pflugers Arch. 1995;429:386–393
  2. Christ GJ, Spektor M, Brink PR, Barr L. Further evidence for the selective disruption of intercellular communication by heptanol. Am J Physiol. 1999;276:H1911–H1917
  3. Danik SB, Liu F, Zhang J, Suk HJ, Morley GE, Fishman GI, et al. Modulation of cardiac gap junction expression and arrhythmic susceptibility. Circ Res. 2004;95:1035–1041
  4. Dhein S, Krüsemann K, Schaefer T. Effects of the gap junction uncoupler palmitoleic acid on the activation and repolarization wavefronts in isolated rabbit hearts. Br J Pharmacol. 1999;128:1375–1384
  5. Dhein S. Cardiac ischemia and uncoupling: gap junctions in ischemia and infarction. Adv Cardiol. 2006;42:198–212
  6. Di Bello V, Giorgi D, Talini E, Dell' Omo G, Palagi C, Romano MF, et al. Incremental value of ultrasonic tissue characterization (backscatter) in the evaluation of left ventricular myocardial structure and mechanics in essential arterial hypertension. Circulation. 2003;107:74–80
  7. Dupont E, Matsushita T, Kaba RA, Vozzi C, Coppen SR, Khan N, et al. Altered connexin expression in human congestive heart failure. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2001;33:359–371
  8. Efimov IR. Connections, connections, connexins: Towards systems biology paradigm of cardiac arrhythmia. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2006;41:949–951
  9. Efimov IR, Nikolski VP, Salama G. Optical imaging of the heart. Circ Res. 2004;95:21–33
  10. Gutstein DE, Morley GE, Tamaddon H, Vaidya D, Schneider MD, Chen J, et al. Conduction slowing and sudden arrhythmic death in mice with cardiac-restricted inactivation of connexin43. Circ Res. 2001;88:333–339
  11. Gysembergh A, Kloner RA, Przyklenk K. Pretreatment with the gap junction uncoupler heptanol does not limit infarct size in rabbit heart. Cardiovasc Pathol. 2001;10:13–17
  12. Kaprielian RR, Gunning M, Dupont E, Sheppard MN, Rothery SM, Underwood R, et al. Downregulation of immunodetectable connexin43 and decreased gap junction size in the pathogenesis of chronic hibernation in the human left ventricle. Circulation. 1998;97:651–660
  13. Keevil VL, Huang CL, Chau PL, Sayeed RA, Vandenberg JI. The effect of heptanol on the electrical and contractile function of the isolated, perfused rabbit heart. Pflugers Arch. 2000;440:275–282
  14. Kimura H, Oyamada Y, Ohshika H, Mori M, Oyamada M. Reversible inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication, synchronous contraction, and synchronism of intracellular Ca2+ fluctuation in cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes by heptanol. Exp Cell Res. 1995;220:348–356
  15. Kjølbye AL, Holstein-Rathlou NH, Petersen JS. Anti-arrhythmic peptide N-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionyl Pro-Hyp-Gly-Ala-Gly-OH reduces dispersion of action potential duration during ischemia/reperfusion in rabbit hearts. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2002;40:770–779
  16. Lerner DL, Beardslee MA, Saffitz JE. The role of altered intercellular coupling in arrhythmias induced by acute myocardial ischemia. Cardiovasc Res. 2001;50:263–269
  17. Lin LC, Kao HL, Wu CC, Ho YL, Lee YT. Alterations of myocardial ultrasonic tissue characterization by coronary angioplasty in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2001;27:1191–1198
  18. Lin LC, Wu CC, Yeh HI, Lu LS, Liu YB, Lin SF, et al. Downregulated myocardial connexin 43 and suppressed contractility in rabbits subjected to a cholesterol-enriched diet. Lab Invest. 2005;85:1224–1237
  19. Lin LC, Yen RF, Hwang JJ, Chiang FT, Tseng CD, Huang PJ. Ultrasonic tissue characterization evaluates myocardial viability and ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2000;26:759–769
  20. Liu YB, Wu CC, Lu LS, Su MJ, Lin CW, Lin SF, et al. Sympathetic nerve sprouting, electrical remodeling, and increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Circ Res. 2003;92:1145–1152
  21. Liu Y-B, Peter A, Lamp ST, Weiss JN, Chen P-S, Lin S-F. Spatiotemporal correlation between phase singularities and wavebreaks during ventricular fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2003;14(10):1103–1109
  22. Marwick TH. Measurement of strain and strain rate by echocardiography: Ready for prime time?. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;47:1313–1327
  23. Nelson WL, Makielski JC. Block of sodium current by heptanol in voltage-clamped canine cardiac Purkinje cells. Circ Res. 1991;68:977–983
  24. Niggli E, Rudisuli A, Maurer P, Weingart R. Effects of general anesthetics on current flow across membranes in guinea pig myocytes. Am J Physiol. 1989;256:C273–C281
  25. Oyamada M, Kimura H, Oyamada Y, Miyamoto A, Ohshika H, Mori M. The expression, phosphorylation, and localization of connexin 43 and gap-junctional intercellular communication during the establishment of a synchronized contraction of cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. Exp Cell Res. 1994;212:351–358
  26. Pak HN, Oh YS, Liu YB, Wu TJ, Karagueuzian HS, Lin SF, et al. Catheter ablation of ventricular fibrillation in rabbit ventricles treated with beta-blockers. Circulation. 2003;108:3149–3156
  27. Peters NS, Green CR, Poole-Wilson PA, Severs NJ. Reduced content of connexin43 gap junctions in ventricular myocardium from hypertrophied and ischemic human hearts. Circulation. 1993;88:864–875
  28. Roell W, Lewalter T, Sasse P, Tallini YN, Choi BR, Breitbach M, et al. Engraftment of connexin 43-expressing cells prevents post-infarct arrhythmia. Nature. 2007;450:819–824
  29. Rose JH, Kaufmann MR, Wickline SA, Hall CS, Miller JG. A proposed microscopic elastic wave theory for ultrasonic backscatter from myocardial tissue. J Acoust Soc Am. 1995;97:656–668
  30. Severs NJ, Coppen SR, Dupont E, Yeh HI, Ko YS, Matsushita T. Gap junction alterations in human cardiac disease. Cardiovasc Res. 2004;62:368–377
  31. Takens-Kwak BR, Jongsma HJ, Rook MB, Van Ginneken AC. Mechanism of heptanol-induced uncoupling of cardiac gap junctions: A perforated patch-clamp study. Am J Physiol. 1992;262:C1531–C1538
  32. van Veen TAB, van Rijen HVM, Opthof T. Cardiac gap junction channels: Modulation of expression and channel properties. Cardiovasc Res. 2001;51:217–229

PII: S0301-5629(08)00391-8

doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2008.08.019

Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 35, Issue 2 , Pages 209-218 , February 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution