BACKGROUND: We examined the antiarrhythmic effects of vasostatin-1, a recently identified cardioregulatory peptide, in canine models of atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: In 13 pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs bilateral thoracotomies allowed the attachment of multielectrode catheters to superior and inferior pulmonary veins and atrial appendages (AA). Rapid atrial pacing (RAP) was maintained for 6 hours. Each hour, programmed stimulation was performed to determine the window of vulnerability (WOV), a measure of AF inducibility, at all sites. During the last 3 hours, vasostatin-1, 33 nM, was injected into the anterior right (AR) ganglionated plexus (GP) and inferior right (IR) GP every 30 minutes (n = 6). Seven dogs underwent 6 hours of RAP only (controls). At baseline, acetylcholine, 100 mM, was applied on the right AA and AF duration was recorded before and after injection of vasostatin-1, 33 nM, into the ARGP and IRGP. In separate experiments (n = 8), voltage-sinus rate response curves (surrogate for GP function) were constructed by applying high-frequency stimulation to the ARGP with incremental voltages with or without vasostatin-1. Vasostatin-1 significantly decreased the duration of acetylcholine-induced AF (11.0 ± 4.1 vs 5.5 ± 2.6 min, P = 0.02). The cumulative WOV (the sum of individual WOVs) significantly increased (P < 0.0001) during the first 3 hours and decreased toward baseline in the presence of vasostatin-1 (P < 0.0001). Cumulative WOV in controls steadily increased. Vasostatin-1 blunted the slowing of sinus rate with increasing stimulation voltage of ARGP. CONCLUSIONS: Vasostatin-1 suppresses AF inducibility, likely by inhibiting GP function. These data may provide new insights into the role of peptide neuromodulators for AF therapy.
BACKGROUND: We examined the antiarrhythmic effects of vasostatin-1, a recently identified cardioregulatory peptide, in canine models of atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: In 13 pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs bilateral thoracotomies allowed the attachment of multielectrode catheters to superior and inferior pulmonary veins and atrial appendages (AA). Rapid atrial pacing (RAP) was maintained for 6 hours. Each hour, programmed stimulation was performed to determine the window of vulnerability (WOV), a measure of AF inducibility, at all sites. During the last 3 hours, vasostatin-1, 33 nM, was injected into the anterior right (AR) ganglionated plexus (GP) and inferior right (IR) GP every 30 minutes (n = 6). Seven dogs underwent 6 hours of RAP only (controls). At baseline, acetylcholine, 100 mM, was applied on the right AA and AF duration was recorded before and after injection of vasostatin-1, 33 nM, into the ARGP and IRGP. In separate experiments (n = 8), voltage-sinus rate response curves (surrogate for GP function) were constructed by applying high-frequency stimulation to the ARGP with incremental voltages with or without vasostatin-1. Vasostatin-1 significantly decreased the duration of acetylcholine-induced AF (11.0 ± 4.1 vs 5.5 ± 2.6 min, P = 0.02). The cumulative WOV (the sum of individual WOVs) significantly increased (P < 0.0001) during the first 3 hours and decreased toward baseline in the presence of vasostatin-1 (P < 0.0001). Cumulative WOV in controls steadily increased. Vasostatin-1 blunted the slowing of sinus rate with increasing stimulation voltage of ARGP. CONCLUSIONS: Vasostatin-1 suppresses AF inducibility, likely by inhibiting GP function. These data may provide new insights into the role of peptide neuromodulators for AF therapy.
Authors: Kalyanam Shivkumar; Olujimi A Ajijola; Inder Anand; J Andrew Armour; Peng-Sheng Chen; Murray Esler; Gaetano M De Ferrari; Michael C Fishbein; Jeffrey J Goldberger; Ronald M Harper; Michael J Joyner; Sahib S Khalsa; Rajesh Kumar; Richard Lane; Aman Mahajan; Sunny Po; Peter J Schwartz; Virend K Somers; Miguel Valderrabano; Marmar Vaseghi; Douglas P Zipes Journal: J Physiol Date: 2016-06-14 Impact factor: 5.182