Multi-scale Integration of Cardiac Excitation: From Molecular Structure to the Human Heart

Professor Yoram Rudy
Washington University of Auckland

Ion channels are the molecular "building blocks" of the excitation process in all excitable tissues, including the heart. Much is known about the molecular structure of ion channels and their electrophysiological function. However, understanding the relationship between the molecular dynamics of the channel protein and electrical excitation remains a difficult challenge. Bridging the structure-function gap is of critical importance, because many disease processes involve alterations in the molecular structure of ion-channels. These molecular changes can lead to abnormal excitation across scales, from the cellular action potential, to its propagation in the multicellular tissue and the whole organ. The altered excitation is also reflected in diagnostic electrical signals, such as the electrocardiogram in the case of the heart.

Using computational biology and the cardiac potassium channel I_Ks (Kv7.1) as an example, Professor Yoram Rudy will describe how cardiac excitation can be studied on multiple scales, from the ion-channel molecular structure to the electrocardiogram. In addition, examples will be provided of cardiac excitation in the intact human heart of patients, as mapped with a novel noninvasive imaging modality called Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI).

Språkvelger