Low extracellular potassium prolongs repolarization and evokes early afterdepolarization in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes
Summary
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is characterized by a prolonged QT-interval on electrocardiogram and by increased risk of sudden death. One of the most common and potentially life-threatening electrolyte disturbances is hypokalemia, characterized by low concentrations of K+ Using a multielectrode array platform and current clamp technique, we investigated the effect of low extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]Ex) on the electrophysiological properties of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) generated from a healthy control subject (WT) and from two symptomatic patients with type 1 of LQTS carrying G589D (LQT1A) or IVS7-2A>G mutation (LQT1B) in KCNQ1 The baseline prolongations of field potential durations (FPDs) and action potential durations (APDs) were longer in LQT1-CMs than in WT-CMs. Exposure to low [K+]Ex prolonged FPDs and APDs in a concentration-dependent fashion. LQT1-CMs were found to be more sensitive to low [K+]Ex compared to WT-CMs. At baseline, LQT1A-CMs had more prolonged APDs than LQT1B-CMs, but low [K+]Ex caused more pronounced APD prolongation in LQT1B-CMs. Early afterdepolarizations in the action potentials were observed in a subset of LQT1A-CMs with further prolonged baseline APDs and triangular phase 2 profiles. This work demonstrates that the hiPSC-derived CMs are sensitive to low [K+]Ex and provide a platform to study acquired LQTS. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
| Authors | Kuusela J, Larsson K, Shah D, Prajapati C, Aalto-Setälä K |
|---|---|
| Journal | Biology open |
| Publication Date | 2017 Jun 15;6(6):777-784 |
| PubMed | 28619993 |
| PubMed Central | PMC5483019 |
| DOI | 10.1242/bio.024216 |