Role of connexins in atrial fibrillation

Advances in Cardiology
Stefan Dhein

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in humans. AF is accompanied by a remodeling process which changes the electrophysiology of the cells and the gap junctional communication within the tissue. Gap junctions, forming communicating channels between neighboring cells, and their specific geometric arrangement seem to contribute to the initiation of AF within the pulmonary veins as well as to the stabilization of AF providing a heterogeneous biophysical network of cells enabling multiple wavelets. These tissue changes are accompanied by fibrosis and changes in the expression levels of Cx43 and Cx40, probably depending on the underlying diseases or the animal model used. New studies point to a modulating role of angiotensin II in this process and a possible therapeutic role for ACE inhibitors or AT(1) antagonists.

Citations

Sep 16, 2009·Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology·Jason PellmanFarah Sheikh
Jan 13, 2017·Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology·Jordi HeijmanDobromir Dobrev
Nov 28, 2009·Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology·Stefan DheinFriedrich-Wilhelm Mohr
Nov 6, 2010·Cardiovascular Research·Zhiguo WangBaofeng Yang
Sep 22, 2017·Pharmacological Reviews·Luc LeybaertRainer Schulz
Feb 25, 2011·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Irene SavelievaA John Camm

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Filbrillation

Atrial fibrillation refers to the abnormal heart rhythm characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atria. Here is the latest research.

Cardiac Remodeling

Cardiac remodeling in response to a myocardial infarction is characterized by progressive ventricular dilatation, cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and deterioration of cardiac performance. Discover the latest research on Cardiac Remodeling here.

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.