Quantitative cross-species translators of cardiac myocyte electrophysiology: Model training, experimental validation, and applications

Animal experimentation is key in the evaluation of cardiac efficacy and safety of novel therapeutic compounds. However, interspecies differences in the mechanisms regulating excitation-contraction coupling can limit the translation of experimental findings from animal models to human physiology and undermine the assessment of drugs’ efficacy and safety. Here, we built a suite of translators for quantitatively mapping electrophysiological responses in ventricular myocytes across species. We trained these statistical operators using a broad dataset obtained by simulating populations of our biophysically detailed computational models of action potential and Ca2+ transient in mouse, rabbit, and human. We then tested our translators against experimental data describing the response to stimuli, such as ion channel block, change in beating rate, and β-adrenergic challenge. We demonstrate that this approach is well suited to predicting the effects of perturbations across different species or experimental conditions and suggest its integration into mechanistic studies and drug development pipelines.

Unraveling the Role of Dopaminergic and Calretinin Interneurons in the Olfactory Bulb

The perception and discriminating of odors are sensory activities that are an integral part of our daily life. The first brain region where odors are processed is the olfactory bulb (OB). Among the different cell populations that make up this brain area, interneurons play an essential role in this sensory activity. Moreover, probably because of their activity, they represent an exception compared to other parts of the brain, since OB interneurons are continuously generated in the postnatal and adult period. In this review, we will focus on periglomerular (PG) cells which are a class of interneurons found in the glomerular layer of the OB. These interneurons can be classified into distinct subtypes based on their neurochemical nature, based on the neurotransmitter and calcium-binding proteins expressed by these cells. Dopaminergic (DA) periglomerular cells and calretinin (CR) cells are among the newly generated interneurons and play an important role in the physiology of OB. In the OB, DA cells are involved in the processing of odors and the adaptation of the bulbar network to external conditions. The main role of DA cells in OB appears to be the inhibition of glutamate release from olfactory sensory fibers. Calretinin cells are probably the best morphologically characterized interneurons among PG cells in OB, but little is known about their function except for their inhibitory effect on noisy random excitatory signals arriving at the main neurons. In this review, we will mainly describe the electrophysiological properties related to the excitability profiles of DA and CR cells, with a particular view on the differences that characterize DA mature interneurons from cells in different stages of adult neurogenesis.

Sex-Specific Classification of Drug-Induced Torsade de Pointes Susceptibility Using Cardiac Simulations and Machine Learning

Torsade de Pointes (TdP), a rare but lethal ventricular arrhythmia, is a toxic side effect of many drugs. To assess TdP risk, safety regulatory guidelines require quantification of hERG channel block in vitro and QT interval prolongation in vivo for all new therapeutic compounds. Unfortunately, these have proven to be poor predictors of torsadogenic risk, and are likely to have prevented safe compounds from reaching clinical phases. Although this has stimulated numerous efforts to define new paradigms for cardiac safety, none of the recently developed strategies accounts for patient conditions. In particular, despite being a well-established independent risk factor for TdP, female sex is vastly under-represented in both basic research and clinical studies, and thus current TdP metrics are likely biased toward the male sex. Here, we apply statistical learning to synthetic data, generated by simulating drug effects on cardiac myocyte models capturing male and female electrophysiology, to develop new sex-specific classification frameworks for TdP risk. We show that (i) TdP classifiers require different features in females vs. males; (ii) male-based classifiers perform more poorly when applied to female data; and (iii) female-based classifier performance is largely unaffected by acute effects of hormones (i.e., during various phases of the menstrual cycle). Notably, when predicting TdP risk of intermediate drugs on female simulated data, male-biased predictive models consistently underestimate TdP risk in women. Therefore, we conclude that pipelines for preclinical cardiotoxicity risk assessment should consider sex as a key variable to avoid potentially life-threatening consequences for the female population.

Populations of in silico myocytes and tissues reveal synergy of multiatrial-predominant K+ -current block in atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Pharmacotherapy of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia, remains unsatisfactory due to low efficacy and safety concerns. New therapeutic strategies target atrial-predominant ion-channels and involve multichannel block (poly)therapy. As AF is characterized by rapid and irregular atrial activations, compounds displaying potent antiarrhythmic effects at fast and minimal effects at slow rates are desirable. We present a novel systems pharmacology framework to quantitatively evaluate synergistic anti-AF effects of combined block of multiple atrial-predominant K⁺ currents (ultra-rapid delayed rectifier K⁺ current, I_Kur , small conductance Ca²⁺ -activated K⁺ current, I_KCa , K_2P 3.1 2-pore-domain K⁺ current, I_K2P ) in AF.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

We constructed experimentally calibrated populations of virtual atrial myocyte models in normal sinus rhythm and AF-remodelled conditions using two distinct, well-established atrial models. Sensitivity analyses on our atrial populations was used to investigate the rate dependence of action potential duration (APD) changes due to blocking I_Kur , I_K2P or I_KCa and interactions caused by blocking of these currents in modulating APD. Block was simulated in both single myocytes and one-dimensional tissue strands to confirm insights from the sensitivity analyses and examine anti-arrhythmic effects of multi-atrial-predominant K⁺ current block in single cells and coupled tissue.

KEY RESULTS

In both virtual atrial myocytes and tissues, multiple atrial-predominant K⁺ -current block promoted favourable positive rate-dependent APD prolongation and displayed positive rate-dependent synergy, that is, increasing synergistic antiarrhythmic effects at fast pacing versus slow rates.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Simultaneous block of multiple atrial-predominant K⁺ currents may be a valuable antiarrhythmic pharmacotherapeutic strategy for AF.

Somatic and neuritic spines on tyrosine hydroxylase-immunopositive cells of rat retina

Dopamine- and tyrosine hydroxylase-immunopositive cells (TH cells) modulate visually driven signals as they flow through retinal photoreceptor, bipolar, and ganglion cells. Previous studies suggested that TH cells release dopamine from varicose axons arborizing in the inner and outer plexiform layers after glutamatergic synapses depolarize TH cell dendrites in the inner plexiform layer and these depolarizations propagate to the varicosities. Although it has been proposed that these excitatory synapses are formed onto appendages resembling dendritic spines, spines have not been found on TH cells of most species examined to date or on TH cell somata that release dopamine when exposed to glutamate receptor agonists. By use of protocols that preserve proximal retinal neuron morphology, we have examined the shape, distribution, and synapse-related immunoreactivity of adult rat TH cells. We report here that TH cell somata, tapering and varicose inner plexiform layer neurites, and varicose outer plexiform layer neurites all bear spines, that some of these spines are immunopositive for glutamate receptor and postsynaptic density proteins (viz., GluR1, GluR4, NR1, PSD-95, and PSD-93), that TH cell somata and tapering neurites are also immunopositive for a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit (GABA_A R_α1 ), and that a synaptic ribbon-specific protein (RIBEYE) is found adjacent to some colocalizations of GluR1 and TH in the inner plexiform layer. These results identify previously undescribed sites at which glutamatergic and GABAergic inputs may stimulate and inhibit dopamine release, especially at somata and along varicose neurites that emerge from these somata and arborize in various levels of the retina. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:1707-1730, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Calretinin-Periglomerular Interneurons in Mice Olfactory Bulb: Cells of Few Words

Within the olfactory bulb (OB), periglomerular (PG) cells consist of various types of interneurons, generally classified by their chemical properties such as neurotransmitter and calcium binding proteins. Calretinin (CR) characterizes morphologically and functionally the more numerous and one of the less known subpopulation of PG cells in the OB. Using of transgenic mice expressing eGFP under the CR promoter, we have tried to obtain the first functional characterization of these cells. Electrophysiological recordings were made in these cells using the patch-clamp technique in thin slices. Using ion substitution methods and specific blockers, we dissected the main voltage-dependent conductances present, obtaining a complete kinetic description for each of them. The more peculiar property of these cells from the electrophysiological point of view is the presence only of a single K-current, A-type – there is no trace of delayed rectifier or of Ca-dependent K-current. Other currents identified, isolated and fully characterized are a fast sodium current, a small L-type calcium current, and an inward rectifier, h-type cationic current. As a consequence of the peculiar complement of voltage-dependent conductances present in these cells, and in particular the absence of delayed-rectifier potassium currents, under the functional point of view these cells present two interesting properties. First, in response to prolonged depolarisations, after the inactivation of the A-current these cells behave as a purely ohmic elements, showing no outward rectification. Second, the CR cells studied can respond only with a single action potential to excitatory inputs; since they send inhibitory synapses to projection neurones, they seem to be designed to inhibit responses of the main neurones to isolated, random excitatory signals, rapidly losing their vetoing effect in response to more structured, repetitive excitatory signals. We propose that a possible role for these rather untalkative interneurons in the intense exchange of messages within the OB might be that of improving the signal-to-noise ratio in the first stages of the olfactory information processing.

Inward rectifier potassium (Kir) current in dopaminergic periglomerular neurons of the mouse olfactory bulb

Dopaminergic (DA) periglomerular (PG) neurons are critically placed at the entry of the bulbar circuitry, directly in contact with both the terminals of olfactory sensory neurons and the apical dendrites of projection neurons; they are autorhythmic and are the target of numerous terminals releasing a variety of neurotransmitters. Despite the centrality of their position, suggesting a critical role in the sensory processing, their properties -and consequently their function- remain elusive. The current mediated by inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channels in DA-PG cells was recorded by adopting the perforated-patch configuration in thin slices; IKir could be distinguished from the hyperpolarization-activated current (I h ) by showing full activation in <10 ms, no inactivation, suppression by Ba(2+) in a typical voltage-dependent manner (IC50 208 μM) and reversal potential nearly coincident with EK. Ba(2+) (2 mM) induces a large depolarization of DA-PG cells, paralleled by an increase of the input resistance, leading to a block of the spontaneous activity, but the Kir current is not an essential component of the pacemaker machinery. The Kir current is negatively modulated by intracellular cAMP, as shown by a decrease of its amplitude induced by forskolin or 8Br-cAMP. We have also tested the neuromodulatory effects of the activation of several metabotropic receptors known to be present on these cells, showing that the current can be modulated by a multiplicity of pathways, whose activation in some case increases the amplitude of the current, as can be observed with agonists of D2, muscarinic, and GABAA receptors, whereas in other cases has the opposite effect, as it can be observed with agonists of α1 noradrenergic, 5-HT and histamine receptors. These characteristics of the Kir currents provide the basis for an unexpected plasticity of DA-PG cell function, making them potentially capable to reconfigure the bulbar network to allow a better flexibility.

The h-current in periglomerular dopaminergic neurons of the mouse olfactory bulb

The properties of the hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I(h)) were investigated in rat periglomerular dopaminergic neurons using patch-clamp recordings in thin slices. A reliable identification of single dopaminergic neurons was made possible by use of a transgenic line of mice expressing eGFP under the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter. At 37 °C and minimizing the disturbance of the intracellular milieu with perforated patches, this current shows a midpoint of activation around -82.7 mV, with a significant level of opening already at rest, thereby giving a substantial contribution to the resting potential, and ultimately playing a relevant function in the control of the cell excitability. The blockage of I(h) has a profound influence on the spontaneous firing of these neurons, which result as strongly depressed. However the effect is not due to a direct role of the current in the pacemaker process, but to the I(h) influence on the resting membrane potential. I(h) kinetics is sensitive to the intracellular levels of cAMP, whose increase promotes a shift of the activation curve towards more positive potentials. The direct application of DA and 5-HT neurotransmitters, physiologically released onto bulbar dopaminergic neurons and known to act on metabotropic receptors coupled to the cAMP pathway, do not modifythe I(h) amplitude. On the contrary, noradrenaline almost halves the I(h) amplitude. Our data indicate that the HCN channels do not participate directly to the pacemaker activity of periglomerular dopaminergic neurons, but influence their resting membrane potential by controlling the excitability profile of these cells, and possibly affecting the processing of sensory information taking place at the entry of the bulbar circuitry.