Regulation of sinoatrial node and pacemaking mechanisms in health and disease

The sinoatrial node (SAN) is the dominant cardiac pacemaker. With its spontaneous automaticity, it dictates rhythm and controls heart rate in response to varying physiological demands. Despite its modest size, the SAN is a very heterogeneous and complex structure that remains the topic of research efforts due, in part, to uncertainties in the mechanisms that regulate pacemaking in various conditions. For instance, the processes that lead to severe sinus bradycardia and SAN dysfunction (SND) in the elderly are unknown and to date, the implantation of electronic pacemaker remains the only SND treatment. Accordingly, the overall objective of this thesis was to explore and highlight the molecular and cellular changes that occur within the SAN in both physiological and pathological states, while determining how they contribute to regulation of heart rate and potentially SND. In the first two chapters, we present pregnancy as a physiological model considering it is a period during which substantial adaptive changes to the myocardium and increases in heart rate occur. Paradoxically, the rapid rate, which is essential for adequate organ perfusion of both mother and foetus, may also increase vulnerability to certain arrhythmias. In the third chapter, inflammation, a central process in pathology and common factor to several diseases and even ageing, was evaluated as potential underlying circumstance contributing to the development of sinus bradycardia and SND. Combinations of in vivo, ex vivo, biochemical, molecular and cellular approaches were used in order to generate an integrated understanding of the models we examined. Our data shows that in pregnant mice, an increase in heart rate similar to that of pregnant women occurs and was due to an electrical remodelling of the SAN. Specifically, an increase in action potential frequency of isolated individual SAN cells was observed. This was attributed to increased expression and density of pacemaker (If) and L-type Ca2+ currents (ICaL) along with a rapid spontaneous Ca2+ transient rate and faster intracellular sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release. We then demonstrate that the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β which is a major inflammatory mediator that is upregulated in several diseases associated with SND, iv dramatically slows automaticity by reducing If and ICaL density in nodal-like cardiomyocytes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CM). Importantly, in that study, hiPSC-CMs were also physiologically and molecularly characterized revealing their high resemblance to adult human SAN and a potential use as a novel in vitro model to study pacemaking in humans. In conclusion, the results of this thesis demonstrate that the SAN is not a simple, neurally controlled tissue, but a rather dynamic pacemaker that undergoes extensive intrinsic remodelling during states of health and disease. The results contribute to understanding physiological mechanisms of pacemaking and how they are altered by disease and may be relevant for both women‟s health and the individuals affected by SND. Ultimately, we hope these findings will be helpful in the development of therapeutic strategies to treat pacemaking-related complications.

Keyphrases: Inflammation, Interleukin-1β, Sinoatrial node, Sinus node disease, Pacemaking, Heart rate, Arrhythmias, Pregnancy, HiPSC-CM