Researchers at 嘿嘿视频 Medical Center Identify Adverse Effects of Disruption of Pcp4 Gene
Cardiovascular scientists at 嘿嘿视频 Medical Center have identified in mouse models a protein known as Pcp4 as a regulator of the heart鈥檚 rhythm. Additionally, when the Pcp4 gene is disrupted, it can cause ventricular arrhythmias.
Results from this animal study were released online Oct. 8 in the peer-reviewed publication, The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
鈥淭his study demonstrates that Purkinje cell protein-4 (Pcp4) is not only important in maintaining the heart鈥檚 normal rhythmic behavior, but that when Pcp4 expression is reduced, it short-circuits electrical activity in a small but critical population of cells in the heart muscle, leading to cardiac arrhythmias,鈥 said , William Goldring Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at 嘿嘿视频, and the study鈥檚 senior author. 聽鈥淲e see increased morbidity and mortality when Pcp4 expression is abnormal in our animal models, including ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.鈥
Using mouse models of cardiomyopathy and fluorescent tags, the research team was able to isolate cardiac Purkinje cells and show that Pcp4 expression was down-regulated in the diseased hearts, producing electrical abnormalities that increased their susceptibility to arrhythmias.聽 Investigators also found Pcp4 in cardiac ganglia, where it also influences the heart鈥檚 rhythm and modulates heart rate control. 聽鈥淣ow that we know that Pcp4 is an important regulator of the heart鈥檚 rhythm, it could serve as an important drug target for treating arrhythmias,鈥 added Dr. Fishman. 鈥淎lthough much work remains to be done, our data suggest that drugs that mimic 笔肠辫4鈥檚 action in the heart could potentially stabilize the heart鈥檚 rhythm.鈥
According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 2.7 million Americans are living with arrhythmias. People with arrhythmias can be treated with a surgical procedure, such as getting a pacemaker, implantable defibrillator or a cardiac ablation, or by delivering a shock with external defibrillators. Ablations are effective but limited to specific types of rhythm abnormalities. 聽Drug therapies have fallen out of favor because of side effects. The 嘿嘿视频 research team believes that with better understanding of the molecular behavior underpinning arrhythmias, more targeted drugs are on the horizon.
Eugene E. Kim and Akshay Shekhar led the study. Jia Lu, Xianming Lin, Fang-Yu Liu, Jie Zhang, and Mario Delmar were additional study co-authors.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Dr. Fishman (R01HL105983) and Akshay Shekhar (T32 GM066704 (Bach)).
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