Analysis of Ion Channels in Cardiomyocytes

Creative Bioarray is committed to providing advanced electrophysiological and combined technologies to help clients comprehensively understand the characteristics, structure, and function of ion channels in cardiomyocytes, accelerating research on the role of ion channels in physiological cardiac excitability and heart disease as well as potential target discovery.

Introduction

Cardiomyocytes can be divided into ventricular myocytes, atrial myocytes, sinoatrial node pacemaker cells, and Purkinje fibers. The electrophysiological activity of the myocardium relies on complex ion channels in the myocardium cell membrane. The opening and closing of these ion channels can generate and regulate action potentials, which are the basic electrical excitation signals responsible for the beating of cardiomyocytes. Different types of cardiomyocytes differ in the composition, number, and density of ion channels. Even the same cardiomyocytes have different electrophysiological properties in different parts of the heart.

Among the ion channels involved in the ventricular action potentials, potassium (K⁺), sodium (Na⁺), and calcium (Ca²⁺) channels predominate. Inherited or acquired changes in the structure, expression, or function of these ion channels can lead to abnormal cellular electrophysiological processes, resulting in life-threatening arrhythmias or even sudden cardiac death. With the in-depth study of patch clamp technology and molecular biology, the knowledge about cardiac ion channels has been gradually expanded, which is helpful to better explain cardiac electrophysiology and pathological mechanism at the molecular level.

Fig. 1 Normal AP generation and EC coupling of cardiomyocytes. (Chen, 2021)

Our Services

Creative Bioarray possesses a variety of electrophysiological techniques for analyzing the biophysical properties and function of ion channels in cardiomyocytes, including manual patch clamp (MPC), automated patch clamp (APC), and microelectrode array (MEA) techniques. In addition, we offer joint techniques of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), optical imaging methods using voltage- or Ca²⁺-sensitive dyes, and optogenetic methods to help our clients fully understand cardiac ion channels. Our services include but not limited to:

• Measurements of changes in membrane potentials and electrical activity in cardiomyocytes.
• Measurements of changes in the intracellular calcium concentration in cardiomyocytes.
• Analysis of changes in EC coupling in cardiac cells.
• High spatial resolution structural characterization and accurate functional assessment of ion channels in cardiomyocytes.
• Disease-related analysis of ion channels in cardiomyocytes.

Our ion channel analysis services are available in a variety of cellular models.

• Freshly isolated cardiomyocytes from wild-type, diseased, or transgenic animal models.
• Embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.
• Heterologous expression systems for specific expression of human ion channels of interest.
• Subtype-specific human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) from healthy individuals and patients.

Applications

• Study on the role of ion channels in normal and diseased heart functions
• Cardiac drug discovery
• Evaluation of the drug effects and safety testing

Equipped with state-of-the-art ion channel research platforms and experienced technicians, Creative Bioarray is committed to providing clients with analytical services for ion channels in cardiomyocytes to enrich their understanding of the properties and functions of these ion channels. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Chen, L.; et al. Ventricular voltage-gated ion channels: Detection, characteristics, mechanisms, and drug safety evaluation. Clinical and translational medicine, 2021, 11(10): e530.