The conditional connexin43G138R mouse mutant represents a new model of hereditary oculodentodigital dysplasia in humans.

Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is a dominant negatively inherited disorder with variable but characteristic anomalies of the fingers and toes, eyes, face and teeth, which are caused by mutations in the connexin 43 (Cx43) gene. All mutations analyzed so far have a negative influence on the conductance through gap junctional channels and hemichannels, as well as trafficking of Cx43 protein in transfected cells. In this study, we inserted the human Cx43G138R point mutation into the mouse Cx43 gene and generated mice conditionally expressing this mutation. All ODDD phenotypic manifestations observed in humans, including syndactyly and enamel hypoplasia as well as craniofacial, bone and heart anomalies, were also observed with significant penetrance in Cx43G138R mice. When this mutation was specifically expressed in cardiomyocytes, characteristic alterations in the electrocardiogram and spontaneous arrhythmias were recorded. In vitro studies with Cx43G138R-expressing cells revealed loss of the Cx43 P2 phosphorylation state, which was also absent in the mutated hearts. This loss has previously been associated with gap junctional dysfunction and increased cellular ATP release. The Cx43G138R mutated mice show significantly increased arrhythmogeneity ex vivo in Langendorff experiments with explanted hearts and in vivo in particular under hypoxic conditions. Our results suggest that the increased activity of ATP-releasing channels in Cx43G138R mutated cardiomyocytes may further reduce the already decreased gap junctional communication and thus aggravate arrhythmogenesis in the mouse mutant.

Vascular Repair by Circumferential Cell Therapy Using Magnetic Nanoparticles and Tailored Magnets.

Cardiovascular disease is often caused by endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and atherosclerotic plaque formation at predilection sites. Also surgical procedures of plaque removal cause irreversible damage to the EC layer, inducing impairment of vascular function and restenosis. In the current study we have examined a potentially curative approach by radially symmetric re-endothelialization of vessels after their mechanical denudation. For this purpose a combination of nanotechnology with gene and cell therapy was applied to site-specifically re-endothelialize and restore vascular function. We have used complexes of lentiviral vectors and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to overexpress the vasoprotective gene endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in ECs. The MNP-loaded and eNOS-overexpressing cells were magnetic, and by magnetic fields they could be positioned at the vascular wall in a radially symmetric fashion even under flow conditions. We demonstrate that the treated vessels displayed enhanced eNOS expression and activity. Moreover, isometric force measurements revealed that EC replacement with eNOS-overexpressing cells restored endothelial function after vascular injury in eNOS(-/-) mice ex and in vivo. Thus, the combination of MNP-based gene and cell therapy with custom-made magnetic fields enables circumferential re-endothelialization of vessels and improvement of vascular function.

Microelectrode arrays: a new tool to measure embryonic heart activity.

The analysis of the sequential excitation of cardiac tissue is of high relevance, both for clinical pathophysiological purposes, eg, detection of sustained ventricular arrhythmias, as well as for experimental electrophysiology. Clinically, different technical approaches such as single electrode measurements and bipolar mapping electrode catheters have been used. In experimental setups several techniques to record cardiac activity have been proposed. Beside the well-established intracellular current-clamp recordings of action potentials, recent studies have performed extracellularly activation sequence mapping or simultaneous multichannel action potential electrode array measurements. Measurement of extracellularly recorded field potentials (FPs) hereby especially provides detailed information about the origin and spread of excitation in the heart. A similar analytical approach for cardiac FPs advanced the analysis of excitation spread and arrhythmic activity in multicellular preparations like developmental differentiation tissue of mouse embryonic stem cells, multicellular preparations of isolated native embryonic cardiomyocytes or the embryonic heart in toto. The use of substrate-integrated Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs, Multi Channel Systems, Reutlingen, Germany) with 60 electrodes of 10-30 microm diameters on a 100-200 microm grid, coated with porous titanium nitride to minimize the impedance allows recording of FPs at a high signal to noise ratio. The possibility to electrically stimulate the tissue further expands the range of applications and bioassays. It may thus facilitate the evaluation of drug research providing detailed information about the interplay of the complex cardiac network, and might improve the predictability of physiological and pathophysiological conditions or drug effects in embryonic heart tissue.