Work

Advances in the understanding of excitation-contraction coupling: the pulsing quest for drugs against heart failure and arrhythmias

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) converts electrical stimuli to mechanical responses. Herein we provide a concise summary of the most updated insights on, and nomenclature of, the main actors involved in cardiac ECC, posing the basis for pharmacologic interventions in heart failure (HF) and arrhythmias. Recently introduced therapeutic strategies targeting myocardial ECC are appraised as well, specifying their molecular mechanism of action. Excitation-contraction coupling starts with the entry of Ca2+ into the cardiomyocyte through the L-type Ca2+ channels (LTCC, also known as dihydropyridine channel); this step triggers Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) by activating type 2 ryanodine receptor Ca2+ release channel (RyR2).1 Ca2+-releasing units consisting of closely (∼15 nm) approximated LTCCs (on T-tubules, which are invaginations of the sarcolemma with a diameter of ∼200 nm that form a highly branched network) and RyRs (on the SR) are known as dyadic...

Source: European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy

DOI: 10.1093/ehjcvp/pvab069

Authors: Urna Kansakar, Fahimeh Varzideh, Stanislovas S Jankauskas, Jessica Gambardella, Bruno Trimarco, Gaetano Santulli

Institutions: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of Naples Federico II

Language: English

Topic: Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias

Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases