BTS Scientific Symposium III - Civil Unrest: Heterocellular Interactions In Cardiac Arrhythmogenesis-BTS Scientific Symposium III - Civil Unrest: Heterocellular Interactions In Cardiac Arrhythmogenesis

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The video presents a series of talks focused on cardiac health, with discussions centered around the interactions between various cardiac cells and their impact on heart diseases, particularly arrhythmias and fibrosis. The session begins with Indhuja Vanaja's study on sympathetic neurons' role in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic disease leading to sudden cardiac death mainly in young athletes. Her research indicates that sympathetic neurons, by expressing desmosomal proteins, contribute significantly to the disease mechanisms in ACM.<br /><br />Joris de Groot then discusses the interactions between fibroblasts, adipocytes, and myocytes, highlighting how obesity can alter electrophysiological substrates and contribute to arrhythmogenesis, with his research supporting the significance of immune responses and the role of myeloperoxidase in fibroblast proliferation and atrial fibrillation.<br /><br />Peter Kohl's presentation on heterocellular coupling as a potential antiarrhythmic therapy explores how non-myocytes, specifically fibroblasts and macrophages, electrically couple with myocytes, impacting heart electrophysiology. He highlights the roles of connections and suggests that these intercellular interactions might hold therapeutic potential.<br /><br />Finally, Arjun Deb discusses the use of optogenetics to study the direct electrical coupling between fibroblasts and myocytes in diseased hearts, showing how fibroblasts can pace the heart and contribute to arrhythmogenesis when excited. His work demonstrates the relevance of both gap junctional and efaptic coupling in such scenarios.<br /><br />Overall, the session underscores the intricate cellular dynamics in heart diseases and the therapeutic possibilities of targeting these cellular interactions.

Keywords

cardiac health

arrhythmias

fibrosis

sympathetic neurons

arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

electrophysiology

fibroblasts

optogenetics

cellular interactions

antiarrhythmic therapy