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A Model of Electrical Conduction in Cardiac Tissue Including Fibroblasts

Annals of Biomedical Engineering volume 37, pages 874–889 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Fibroblasts are abundant in cardiac tissue. Experimental studies suggested that fibroblasts are electrically coupled to myocytes and this coupling can impact cardiac electrophysiology. In this work, we present a novel approach for mathematical modeling of electrical conduction in cardiac tissue composed of myocytes, fibroblasts, and the extracellular space. The model is an extension of established cardiac bidomain models, which include a description of intra-myocyte and extracellular conductivities, currents and potentials in addition to transmembrane voltages of myocytes. Our extension added a description of fibroblasts, which are electrically coupled with each other and with myocytes. We applied the extended model in exemplary computational simulations of plane waves and conduction in a thin tissue slice assuming an isotropic conductivity of the intra-fibroblast domain. In simulations of plane waves, increased myocyte–fibroblast coupling and fibroblast–myocyte ratio reduced peak voltage and maximal upstroke velocity of myocytes as well as amplitudes and maximal downstroke velocity of extracellular potentials. Simulations with the thin tissue slice showed that inter-fibroblast coupling affected rather transversal than longitudinal conduction velocity. Our results suggest that fibroblast coupling becomes relevant for small intra-myocyte and/or large intra-fibroblast conductivity. In summary, the study demonstrated the feasibility of the extended bidomain model and supports the hypothesis that fibroblasts contribute to cardiac electrophysiology in various manners.

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Notes

  1. The reader is referred to work of Henriquez,18 page 22 for assumptions underlying our Eq. (22) and page 14–21 for extensions for other configurations.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the Richard A. and Nora Eccles Fund for Cardiovascular Research, awards from the Nora Eccles Treadwell Foundation (FBS, APM, JAA), and NIH/NHLBI, HL63969 (APM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute, University of Utah, 95 S 2000 E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Frank B. Sachse, A. P. Moreno & J. A. Abildskov

  2. Bioengineering Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

    Frank B. Sachse

  3. School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

    A. P. Moreno & J. A. Abildskov

  4. Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Karlsruhe, Germany

    G. Seemann

Authors
  1. Frank B. Sachse
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  2. A. P. Moreno
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  3. G. Seemann
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  4. J. A. Abildskov
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Correspondence to Frank B. Sachse.

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Sachse, F.B., Moreno, A.P., Seemann, G. et al. A Model of Electrical Conduction in Cardiac Tissue Including Fibroblasts. Ann Biomed Eng 37, 874–889 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9667-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9667-4

Keywords

  • Cardiac electrophysiology
  • Computational simulation
  • Fibroblast–myocyte interaction
  • Electrical signaling
  • Bidomain model of electrical conduction