iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes from patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 have abnormal ion channel functions and slower conduction velocities.

Cardiac complications such as electrical abnormalities including conduction delays and arrhythmias are the main cause of death in individuals with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1). We developed a disease model using iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) from a healthy individual and two DM1 patients with different CTG repeats lengths and clinical history (DM1-1300 and DM1-300). We confirmed the presence of toxic RNA foci and mis-spliced MBNL1/2 transcripts in DM1 iPSC-CMs. In DM1-1300, we identified a switch in the cardiac sodium channel SCN5A from the adult to the neonatal isoform. The down-regulation of adult SCN5A isoforms is consistent with a shift in the sodium current activation to depolarized potentials observed in DM1-1300. L-type calcium current density was higher in iPSC-CMs from DM1-1300, which is correlated with the overexpression of the CaV1.2 transcript and proteins. Importantly, INa and ICaL dysfunctions resulted in prolonged action potentials duration, slower velocities, and decreased overshoots. Optical mapping analysis revealed a slower conduction velocity in DM1-1300 iPSC-CM monolayers. In conclusion, our data revealed two distinct ions channels perturbations in DM1 iPSC-CM from the patient with cardiac dysfunction, one affecting Na+ channels and one affecting Ca2+ channels. Both have an impact on cardiac APs and ultimately on heart conduction.

Modulation of peripheral Na(+) channels and neuronal firing by n-butyl-p-aminobenzoate.

n-butyl-p-aminobenzoate (BAB), a local anesthetic, is administered epidurally in cancer patients to treat pain that is poorly controlled by other drugs that have a number of adverse effects. The purpose of the study was to unravel the mechanisms underlying the apparent selective pain suppressant effect of BAB. We used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique to record Na(+) currents and action potentials (APs) in dissociated, nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells from rats, two types of peripheral sensory neuron Na(+) channels (Nav1.7 and Nav1.8), and the motor neuron-specific Na(+) channel (Nav1.6) expressed in HEK293 cells. BAB (1-100µM) inhibited, in a concentration-dependent manner, the depolarization evoked repetitive firing in DRG cells, the three types of Na(+) current expressed in HEK293 cells, and the TTXr Na(+) current of the DRG neurons. BAB induced a use-dependent block that caused a shift of the inactivation curve in the hyperpolarizing direction. BAB enhanced the onset of slow inactivation of Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 currents but not of Nav1.6 currents. At clinically relevant concentrations (1-100µM), BAB is thus a more potent inhibitor of peripheral TTX-sensitive TTXs, Nav1.7 and TTX-resistant NaV1.8 Na(+) channels than of motor neuron axonal Nav1.6 Na(+) channels. BAB had similar effects on the TTXr Na(+) channels of rat DRG neurons and Nav1.8 channels expressed in HEK293 cells. The observed selectivity of BAB in treating cancer pain may be due to an enhanced and selective responsiveness of Na(+) channels in nociceptive neurons to this local anesthetic.

The variant hERG/R148W associated with LQTS is a mutation that reduces current density on co-expression with the WT.

BACKGROUND: A variant of the ether-à-go-go related channel (hERG), p.Arg148Trp (R148W) was found at heterozygous state in two infants who died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), one with documented prolonged QTc and Torsade de Pointes (TdP), and in an adult woman with QTc >500 ms, atrioventricular block and TdP. This variant was previously reported in cases of severe ventricular arrhythmia but very rarely in control subjects. Its classification as mutation or polymorphism awaited electrophysiological characterization. METHODS: The properties of this N-terminal, proximal domain, hERG variant were explored in Xenopus oocytes injected with the same amount of RNA encoding for either hERG/WT or hERG/R148W or their equimolar mixture. The human ventricular cell (TNNP) model was used to test the effects of changes in hERG current. RESULTS: R148W alone produced a current similar to the WT (369 ± 76 nA (mean ± SEM), n=13 versus 342 ± 55 nA in WT, n=13), while the co-expression of 1/2 WT+1/2 R148W lowered the current by 29% versus WT (243 ± 35 nA, n=13, p<0.05). The voltage dependencies of steady-state activation and inactivation were not changed in the variant alone or in co-expression with the WT. The time constants of fast recovery from inactivation and of fast and slow deactivation analyzed between -120 and +20 mV were not changed. The voltage-dependent distribution of the current amplitudes among fast-, slow- and non-deactivating fractions was unaltered. A 6.6% increase in APD90 from 323.5 ms to 345 ms was observed using the human cardiac ventricular myocyte model. CONCLUSIONS: Such a decrease in hERG current as evidenced here when co-expressing the hERG/R148W variant with the WT may have predisposed to the observed long QT syndrome and associated TdP. Therefore, the heterozygous carriers of hERG/R148W may be at risk of cardiac sudden death.

Serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) induction by the EWS/NOR1(NR4A3) fusion protein.

The NR4A3 nuclear receptor (also known as NOR1) is involved in tumorigenesis by the t(9;22) chromosome translocation encoding the EWS/NOR1 fusion protein found in approximately 75% of all cases of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas (EMC). Several observations suggest that one role of EWS/NOR1 in tumorigenesis may be to deregulate the expression of specific target genes. We have shown previously that constitutive expression of EWS/NOR1 in CFK2 fetal rat chondrogenic cells induces their transformation as measured by growth beyond confluency and growth in soft agar. To identify genes regulated by the fusion protein in this model, we have generated a CFK2 cell line in which the expression of EWS/NOR1 is controlled by tetracycline. Using the differential display technique, we have identified the serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) mRNA as being up-regulated in the presence of EWS/NOR1. Co-immunocytochemistry confirmed over-expression of the SGK1 protein in cells expressing EWS/NOR1. Significantly, immunohistochemistry of 10 EMC tumors positive for EWS/NOR1 showed that all of them over-express the SGK1 protein in contrast to non-neoplastic cells in the same biopsies and various other sarcoma types. These results strongly suggest that SGK1 may be a genuine in vivo target of EWS/NOR1 in EMC.

The PLAGL1 gene is down-regulated in human extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma tumors.

In approximately 70% of human extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (EMC) tumors, a t(9;22) chromosome translocation gives rise to a fusion protein, named EWS/NOR1, containing the amino-terminal domain of EWS fused to the complete amino acid sequence of the nuclear receptor NOR1. Several observations suggest that one role of EWS/NOR1 in EMC may be to deregulate the expression of specific genes involved in the tumoral process. In order to identify these genes, we have used a CFK2 chondrogenic cell line over-expressing EWS/NOR1. A differential display analysis has identified the PLAGL1 gene as being down-regulated in the CFK2(EWS/NOR1) cell line compared to native CFK2 cells. RT-PCR analyses show that whereas the PLAGL1 mRNAs encoding the two isoforms of the protein are highly expressed in four human chondrocyte immortalized cell lines and two human chondrocyte primary cultures, they are strongly down-regulated in six EMC tumors. We conclude that down-regulation of PLAGL1 may be a significant contributing factor in the development of EMC tumors.