Aspergillus-Induced Cardiac Injury Modeling and Preventive Strategy Screening via a Universal Precise...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Mycology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Invasive aspergillosis can cause severe cardiac injury with high mortality.
• Existing in vitro models lack real-time electrophysiological monitoring capabilities.
• Understanding fungal metabolite effects on cardiac electrophysiology is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a precise biosensing platform for real-time monitoring of cardiomyocyte electrophysiology.
• To investigate the effects of gliotoxin (GT), an Aspergillus fumigatus virulence factor, on cardiac electrophysiology.
• To evaluate the protective effects of Skullcapflavone II (SF2) against GT-induced cardiac damage.

Main Methods:

• Development of a universal electrophysiological biosensing platform.
• Exposure of cardiomyocytes to gliotoxin (GT) and Skullcapflavone II (SF2).
• Real-time monitoring of cardiomyocyte firing rate and signal amplitude.

Main Results:

• Acute GT exposure (250 nM) increased cardiomyocyte firing rate within 8 hours.
• Prolonged GT exposure led to a progressive reduction in signal amplitude.
• Skullcapflavone II (SF2) maintained electrophysiological signal stability, protecting against GT-induced damage.

Conclusions:

• The developed platform enables precise, real-time electrophysiological monitoring of cardiomyocytes.
• This tool facilitates the study of Aspergillus-induced cardiac injury mechanisms.
• The platform can be used to assess potential therapeutic strategies, like SF2, for fungal cardiac damage.