Magnetocardiography on an isolated animal heart with a room-temperature optically pumped magnetometer

© 2018, The Author(s). Optically pumped magnetometers are becoming a promising alternative to cryogenically-cooled superconducting magnetometers for detecting and imaging biomagnetic fields. Magnetic field detection is a completely non-invasive method, which allows one to study the function of excitable human organs with a sensor placed outside the human body. For instance, magnetometers can be used to detect brain activity or to study the activity of the heart. We have developed a highly sensitive miniature optically pumped magnetometer based on cesium atomic vapor kept in a paraffin-coated glass container. The magnetometer is optimized for detection of biological signals and has high temporal and spatial resolution. It is operated at room- or human body temperature and can be placed in contact with or at a mm-distance from a biological object. With this magnetometer, we detected the heartbeat of an isolated guinea-pig heart, which is an animal widely used in biomedical studies. In our recordings of the magnetocardiogram, we can detect the P-wave, QRS-complex and T-wave associated with the cardiac cycle in real time. We also demonstrate that our device is capable of measuring the cardiac electrographic intervals, such as the RR- and QT-interval, and detecting drug-induced prolongation of the QT-interval, which is important for medical diagnostics

Polyunsaturated fatty acid analogs act antiarrhythmically on the cardiac I-Ks channel

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) affect cardiac excitability. Kv7.1 and the beta-subunit KCNE1 form the cardiac I-Ks channel that is central for cardiac repolarization. In this study, we explore the prospects of PUFAs as I-Ks channel modulators. We report that PUFAs open Kv7.1 via an electrostatic mechanism. Both the polyunsaturated acyl tail and the negatively charged carboxyl head group are required for PUFAs to open Kv7.1. We further show that KCNE1 coexpression abolishes the PUFA effect on Kv7.1 by promoting PUFA protonation. PUFA analogs with a decreased pK(a) value, to preserve their negative charge at neutral pH, restore the sensitivity to open I-Ks channels. PUFA analogs with a positively charged head group inhibit I-Ks channels. These different PUFA analogs could be developed into drugs to treat cardiac arrhythmias. In support of this possibility, we show that PUFA analogs act antiarrhythmically in embryonic rat cardiomyocytes and in isolated perfused hearts from guinea pig.Funding Agencies|National Institutes of Health [R01GM109762]; American Heart Association [14GRNT20380041]; Swedish Research Council; Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation; County Council of Ostergotland; Queen Silvias Anniversary Foundation; Academy of Finland</p