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Updated: Nov 7, 2025

Generation of Murine Cardiac Pacemaker Cell Aggregates Based on ES-Cell-Programming in Combination with Myh6-Promoter-Selection
Published on: February 17, 2015
Assembly of the Cardiac Pacemaking Complex: Electrogenic Principles of Sinoatrial Node Morphogenesis
Marietta Easterling1,2, Simone Rossi3, Anthony J Mazzella4
1Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Abstract:
Cardiac pacemaker cells located in the sinoatrial node initiate the electrical impulses that drive rhythmic contraction of the heart. The sinoatrial node accounts for only a small proportion of the total mass of the heart yet must produce a stimulus of sufficient strength to stimulate the entire volume of downstream cardiac tissue. This requires balancing a delicate set of electrical interactions both within the sinoatrial node and with the downstream working myocardium. Understanding the fundamental features of these interactions is critical for defining vulnerabilities that arise in human arrhythmic disease and may provide insight towards the design and implementation of the next generation of potential cellular-based cardiac therapeutics. Here, we discuss physiological conditions that influence electrical impulse generation and propagation in the sinoatrial node and describe developmental events that construct the tissue-level architecture that appears necessary for sinoatrial node function.
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