Drift and termination of spiral waves in optogenetically modified cardiac tissue at sub-threshold illumination
Sayedeh Hussaini,
Vishalini Venkatesan,
Valentina Biasci,
José M Romero Sepúlveda,
Raul A Quiñonez Uribe,
Leonardo Sacconi,
Gil Bub,
Claudia Richter,
Valentin Krinski,
Ulrich Parlitz,
Rupamanjari Majumder,
Stefan Luther
Affiliations
Sayedeh Hussaini
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Systems, Goettingen University, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Vishalini Venkatesan
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; University Medical Center Goettingen, Clinic of Cardiology and Pneumology, Goettingen, Germany
Valentina Biasci
European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Division of Physiology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
José M Romero Sepúlveda
Department of Physiology, MGill University, Montreal, Canada
Raul A Quiñonez Uribe
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, Florence, Italy
Department of Physiology, MGill University, Montreal, Canada
Claudia Richter
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; University Medical Center Goettingen, Clinic of Cardiology and Pneumology, Goettingen, Germany
Valentin Krinski
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; INPHYNI, CNRS, Sophia Antipolis, Paris, France
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Systems, Goettingen University, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Research Group Biomedical Physics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany; Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Systems, Goettingen University, Goettingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; University Medical Center Goettingen, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Goettingen, Germany
The development of new approaches to control cardiac arrhythmias requires a deep understanding of spiral wave dynamics. Optogenetics offers new possibilities for this. Preliminary experiments show that sub-threshold illumination affects electrical wave propagation in the mouse heart. However, a systematic exploration of these effects is technically challenging. Here, we use state-of-the-art computer models to study the dynamic control of spiral waves in a two-dimensional model of the adult mouse ventricle, using stationary and non-stationary patterns of sub-threshold illumination. Our results indicate a light-intensity-dependent increase in cellular resting membrane potentials, which together with diffusive cell-cell coupling leads to the development of spatial voltage gradients over differently illuminated areas. A spiral wave drifts along the positive gradient. These gradients can be strategically applied to ensure drift-induced termination of a spiral wave, both in optogenetics and in conventional methods of electrical defibrillation.