Cardiac optogenetics: using light to monitor cardiac physiology

• Published in: Basic research in cardiology Vol. 112; no. 5; p. 56
• Main Authors: Koopman, Charlotte D., Zimmermann, Wolfram H., Knöpfel, Thomas, de Boer, Teun P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Action Potentials; Animals; Biomedical Research - methods; Biosensing Techniques; Calcium Signaling; Cardiology; Cardiology - methods; Contraction; Dyes; Excitation; Excitation Contraction Coupling; Fluorescence; Genetics; Heart; Heart - physiology; Heart diseases; Humans; Information processing; Ion Channels - metabolism; Ion Transport; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Myocardial Contraction; Myocytes, Cardiac - metabolism; Optics; Optogenetics; Review; Sensors; Signal transduction; Spatial discrimination; Spatial resolution; Ion channels/membrane transport; Cell signalling/signal transduction; Physiology; Calcium cycling/excitation–contraction coupling
• ISSN: 0300-8428; 1435-1803
• DOI: 10.1007/s00395-017-0645-y

Our current understanding of cardiac excitation and its coupling to contraction is largely based on ex vivo studies utilising fluorescent organic dyes to assess cardiac action potentials and signal transduction. Recent advances in optogenetic sensors open exciting new possibilities for cardiac research and allow us to answer research questions that cannot be addressed using the classic organic dyes. Especially thrilling is the possibility to use optogenetic sensors to record parameters of cardiac excitation and contraction in vivo. In addition, optogenetics provide a high spatial resolution, as sensors can be coupled to motifs and targeted to specific cell types and subcellular domains of the heart. In this review, we will give a comprehensive overview of relevant optogenetic sensors, how they can be utilised in cardiac research and how they have been applied in cardiac research up to now.