Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart
The heart is the first organ system to form in the embryo. Over the course of development, cardiomyocytes with differing morphogenetic, molecular, and physiological characteristics are specified and differentiate and integrate with one another to assemble a coordinated electromechanical pumping syst...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-05-01
|
Series: | Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/5/2/28 |
id |
doaj-29a38a4fc9ff4a16b12dcee1d3add200 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-29a38a4fc9ff4a16b12dcee1d3add2002020-11-25T00:16:53ZengMDPI AGJournal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease2308-34252018-05-01522810.3390/jcdd5020028jcdd5020028Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing HeartKandace Thomas0Julie Goudy1Trevor Henley2Michael Bressan3Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, McAllister Heart Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Cell Biology and Physiology, McAllister Heart Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Cell Biology and Physiology, McAllister Heart Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Cell Biology and Physiology, McAllister Heart Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USAThe heart is the first organ system to form in the embryo. Over the course of development, cardiomyocytes with differing morphogenetic, molecular, and physiological characteristics are specified and differentiate and integrate with one another to assemble a coordinated electromechanical pumping system that can function independently of any external stimulus. As congenital malformation of the heart presents the leading class of birth defects seen in humans, the molecular genetics of heart development have garnered much attention over the last half century. However, understanding how genetic perturbations manifest at the level of the individual cell function remains challenging to investigate. Some of the barriers that have limited our capacity to construct high-resolution, comprehensive models of cardiac physiological maturation are rapidly being removed by advancements in the reagents and instrumentation available for high-speed live imaging. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of imaging approaches for assessing cardiac development, describe some of the reagents and tools required to perform live imaging in the developing heart, and discuss how the combination of modern imaging modalities and physiological probes can be used to scale from subcellular to whole-organ analysis. Through these types of imaging approaches, critical insights into the processes of cardiac physiological development can be directly examined in real-time. Moving forward, the synthesis of modern molecular biology and imaging approaches will open novel avenues to investigate the mechanisms of cardiomyocyte maturation, providing insight into the etiology of congenital heart defects, as well as serving to direct approaches for designing stem-cell or regenerative medicine protocols for clinical application.http://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/5/2/28cardiac developmentoptical mappingcardiac conduction systemphysiological imaging |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kandace Thomas Julie Goudy Trevor Henley Michael Bressan |
spellingShingle |
Kandace Thomas Julie Goudy Trevor Henley Michael Bressan Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease cardiac development optical mapping cardiac conduction system physiological imaging |
author_facet |
Kandace Thomas Julie Goudy Trevor Henley Michael Bressan |
author_sort |
Kandace Thomas |
title |
Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart |
title_short |
Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart |
title_full |
Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart |
title_fullStr |
Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart |
title_full_unstemmed |
Optical Electrophysiology in the Developing Heart |
title_sort |
optical electrophysiology in the developing heart |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease |
issn |
2308-3425 |
publishDate |
2018-05-01 |
description |
The heart is the first organ system to form in the embryo. Over the course of development, cardiomyocytes with differing morphogenetic, molecular, and physiological characteristics are specified and differentiate and integrate with one another to assemble a coordinated electromechanical pumping system that can function independently of any external stimulus. As congenital malformation of the heart presents the leading class of birth defects seen in humans, the molecular genetics of heart development have garnered much attention over the last half century. However, understanding how genetic perturbations manifest at the level of the individual cell function remains challenging to investigate. Some of the barriers that have limited our capacity to construct high-resolution, comprehensive models of cardiac physiological maturation are rapidly being removed by advancements in the reagents and instrumentation available for high-speed live imaging. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of imaging approaches for assessing cardiac development, describe some of the reagents and tools required to perform live imaging in the developing heart, and discuss how the combination of modern imaging modalities and physiological probes can be used to scale from subcellular to whole-organ analysis. Through these types of imaging approaches, critical insights into the processes of cardiac physiological development can be directly examined in real-time. Moving forward, the synthesis of modern molecular biology and imaging approaches will open novel avenues to investigate the mechanisms of cardiomyocyte maturation, providing insight into the etiology of congenital heart defects, as well as serving to direct approaches for designing stem-cell or regenerative medicine protocols for clinical application. |
topic |
cardiac development optical mapping cardiac conduction system physiological imaging |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/5/2/28 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT kandacethomas opticalelectrophysiologyinthedevelopingheart AT juliegoudy opticalelectrophysiologyinthedevelopingheart AT trevorhenley opticalelectrophysiologyinthedevelopingheart AT michaelbressan opticalelectrophysiologyinthedevelopingheart |
_version_ |
1725381868139839488 |