A method for isolating rabbit atrioventricular node myocytes which retain normal morphology and function

This report describes a method for isolating single rabbit atrioventricular (AV) node myocytes which retain their normal morphology when exposed to millimolar levels of calcium. Previous attempts to isolate cells from the AV node have produced myocytes that "round up" (i.e., go into contracture) when exposed to calcium. We show that the cells isolated with our technique possess properties similar to those described for intact AV nodal tissue. We find that single AV node myocytes are shorter and thinner (mean dimension = 103.5 +/- 2.3 by 7.8 +/- 0.2 microns; mean +/- SE, n = 90) than atrial or ventricular cells. Many of the cells produced by this isolation procedure generate spontaneous action potentials (188 +/- 9 beats/min; n = 6), which resemble action potentials recorded previously from the intact AV node. Voltage-clamp recordings from spontaneously active cells revealed similar membrane currents to those seen in intact tissue: fast sodium current and a L-type calcium current, followed by a delayed outward current. However, we found little evidence for the hyperpolarization-activated current (I(f)). Because the cells responded normally to concentrations of acetylcholine and isoproterenol within the physiological range, their cholinergic and adrenergic receptors appear to be well preserved by the isolation procedure. The ability to isolate morphologically and functionally normal AV myocytes may represent a significant advance for the investigation of nodal physiology at the cellular level.