Structural Identification of the Pacemaker Cells and Expression of Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated (HCN) Channels in the Heart of the Wild Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua (Linnaeus, 1758)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Jose M. Icardo¹  Eugenia R. Lauriano²  Giacomo Zaccone³  Gioele Capillo³  Stelios Karapanagiotis⁴  Jorge M. O. Fernandes⁴  Prabhugouda Siriyappagouder⁴  Michal Kuciel⁵ 

[1] Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Poligono de Cazona, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cantabria, 39011 Santander, Spain;Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy;Department of Veterinary Sciences, Polo Universitario dell’Annunziata, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy;Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, 8026 Bodø, Norway;Poison Information Centre, Department of Toxicology and Environmental Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 15, 30-501 Cracow, Poland;

关键词: cardiac pacemaker;    hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels;    intracardiac neurons;    innervation;    Atlantic cod;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms22147539

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels are proteins that contain highly conserved functional domains and sequence motifs that are correlated with their unique biophysical activities, to regulate cardiac pacemaker activity and synaptic transmission. These pacemaker proteins have been studied in mammalian species, but little is known now about their heart distribution in lower vertebrates and c-AMP modulation. Here, we characterized the pacemaker system in the heart of the wild Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), with respect to primary pacemaker molecular markers. Special focus is given to the structural, ultrastructural and molecular characterization of the pacemaker domain, through the expression of HCN channel genes and the immunohistochemistry of HCN isoforms, including the location of intracardiac neurons that are adjacent to the sinoatrial region of the heart. Similarly to zebrafish and mammals, these neurons are immunoreactive to ChAT, VAChT and nNOS. It has been shown that cardiac pacemaking can be modulated by sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways, and the existence of intracardiac neurons projecting back to the central nervous system provide a plausible link between them.

【 授权许可】

Unknown