Bioelectrical signals improve cardiac function and modify gene expression of extracellular matrix components

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Heart failure negatively impacts myocardial function at the molecular level.
• Electrical stimulation devices show promise for therapeutic interventions in cardiovascular diseases.
• Understanding the effects of electrical microcurrent on cardiac tissue is crucial for developing new treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the functional effects of applying electrical microcurrent directly to failing hearts.
• To determine if microcurrent application can lead to myocardial functional improvement in a heart failure model.
• To analyze molecular changes in the myocardium following microcurrent treatment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) with induced heart failure.
• Applied a 0.35 μA microcurrent to the left ventricular epicardium for 45 days.
• Measured left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and posterior wall thickness; analyzed gene expression of extracellular matrix and inflammatory markers via quantitative PCR.

Main Results:

• Microcurrent application normalized LVEF and reduced left ventricular posterior wall thickness in SHRs.
• Significant decreases observed in gene expression of collagen I, TIMP3, Cx43, Cx45, TGF-β, and IL-6 compared to controls.
• No significant changes were noted in collagen III, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP4, or Cx40 expression.

Conclusions:

• Direct application of microcurrent to the failing heart epicardium results in significant functional recovery.
• Microcurrent therapy alters the expression of key inflammatory and extracellular matrix components in the myocardium.
• This study supports the potential of microcurrent as a novel therapeutic strategy for heart failure.