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J wave syndromes: What's new?
Charles Antzelevitch1, Jose M Di Diego2
1Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Executive Director, Cardiovascular Research, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, PA 19096, USA; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnwoddm PA USA; Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia PA, USA.
Insights
J wave syndromes, including Brugada syndrome (BrS) and early repolarization syndrome (ERS), are inherited heart conditions causing sudden cardiac death. Research explores their mechanisms and a new whole-heart model of BrS.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Inherited ion channelopathies, specifically J wave syndromes like Brugada syndrome (BrS) and early repolarization syndrome (ERS), are linked to life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in structurally normal hearts.
- These conditions are a significant cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD), particularly in young adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the clinical features, molecular, ionic, cellular, and genetic mechanisms of J wave syndromes.
- To present a novel whole-heart experimental model of BrS and discuss its implications.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of clinical characteristics and underlying mechanisms.
- Development and application of a whole-heart experimental model for Brugada syndrome.
Main Results:
- The whole-heart model provides evidence supporting the repolarization hypothesis for BrS.
- Novel findings reveal interactions between voltage-gated sodium and transient outward current channels.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the interplay between ion channel function, trafficking, and gating is crucial for elucidating the genetics of cardiac and neuronal syndromes.
- The developed model offers new insights into the pathophysiology of BrS.
Abstract:
Among the inherited ion channelopathies associated with potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia syndromes in nominally structurally normal hearts are the J wave syndromes, which include the Brugada (BrS) and early repolarization (ERS) syndromes. These ion channelopathies are responsible for sudden cardiac death (SCD), most often in young adults in the third and fourth decade of life. Our principal goal in this review is to briefly outline the clinical characteristics, as well as the molecular, ionic, cellular, and genetic mechanisms underlying these primary electrical diseases that have challenged the cardiology community over the past two decades. In addition, we discuss our recently developed whole-heart experimental model of BrS, providing compelling evidence in support of the repolarization hypothesis for the BrS phenotype as well as novel findings demonstrating that voltage-gated sodium and transient outward current channels can modulate each other's function via trafficking and gating mechanisms with implications for improved understanding of the genetics of both cardiac and neuronal syndromes.
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