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Heart Rate and Rhythm pp 33–58Cite as

Ionic Basis of the Pacemaker Activity of SA Node Revealed by the Lead Potential Analysis

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Abstract

Ionic mechanisms of spontaneous action potential in sinoatrial (SA) node pacemaker cells have been discussed for decades. Although a number of theoretical studies have proposed different mathematical models, no scientific consensus has been achieved yet, because of the complexity and variations in experimental findings used for developing models. Here, we introduce a theoretical method in simulation study, the lead potential analysis, which enabled us to isolate the contribution of individual currents from the secondary effect of modified channel activities. We compared three models, suggesting different ionic mechanisms (Himeno et al. model, Kurata et al. model, and Maltsev and Lakatta model), and contributions of Ca2+ through activation of I NaCa is estimated. Finally, the effect of catecholamine stimulation is discussed based on a SA node cell model with β1-adrenergic signaling cascade and mechanisms of the positive chronotropy are analyzed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Biomedical Cluster Kansai project of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan and Ritsumeikan-Global Innovation Research Organization in Ritsumeikan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosimulation Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Yukiko Himeno

  2. Biosimulation Project, Faculty of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, 525-8577, Japan

    Chae Young Cha & Akinori Noma

Authors
  1. Yukiko Himeno
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  2. Chae Young Cha
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  3. Akinori Noma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yukiko Himeno .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Life Sciences Academy, Usman Enclave 103, Lucknow, 226024, India

    Onkar N. Tripathi

  2. Medizinische Fakultät, Inst. für Pharmakologie u. Toxikologie, TU Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, 01307, Germany

    Ursula Ravens

  3. Cardiovascular Research &, Training Inst. (CVRTI), University of Utah, South 2000 East 95, Salt Lake City, 84112-5000, Utah, USA

    Michael C. Sanguinetti

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Himeno, Y., Cha, C.Y., Noma, A. (2011). Ionic Basis of the Pacemaker Activity of SA Node Revealed by the Lead Potential Analysis. In: Tripathi, O., Ravens, U., Sanguinetti, M. (eds) Heart Rate and Rhythm. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17575-6_2

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