Key result
Long-range myocyte-fibroblast coupling generates pro-arrhythmic re-entrant wave dynamics in 2D tissue simulations.
Why the study?
Although myocytes can uncouple under conditions like fibrosis or scar tissue, electrical conduction still occurs via fibroblasts, prompting investigation into whether non-local myocyte-fibroblast coupling can cause pro-arrhythmic re-entrant wave dynamics.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Computational modeling demonstrates that long-range electrical coupling between myocytes and fibroblasts across scar tissue can create a dynamical border zone that promotes re-entrant arrhythmias.
Although myocytes in healthy hearts are usually coupled to nearest neighbours via gap junctions, under conditions such as fibrosis, in scar tissue, or across ablation lines, myocytes can uncouple from their neighbours. However it has been experimentally observed that electrical conduction can still occur across these uncoupled regions via fibroblasts. In this paper we propose a novel model of non-local coupling between myocytes and fibroblasts in a 2D tissue, and hypothesise that such long-range coupling can give rise to pro-arrhythmic re-entrant wave dynamics. We have simulated the scar and the surrounding border zone via simultaneous coupling of fibroblasts with both proximal and distal regions of myocardium. We find that in this setup the border zone itself is a dynamical outcome of the coupling between cells within and outside the scar. We have determined the effect of the border zone on the stability of waves generated by rapid pacing. Furthermore we have identified key parameters that determine wave dynamics in this geometry, and have also described the mechanism underlying the complex wave dynamics. These findings are of significance for our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias associated with regions of myocardial scar.
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Sridhar et al. (2025) studied Cardiac arrhythmias associated with myocardial scar. Non-local coupling between myocytes and fibroblasts was evaluated on Wave dynamics and stability of waves generated by rapid pacing. Simulations of non-local coupling between myocytes and fibroblasts in a 2D tissue demonstrated that long-range coupling can give rise to pro-arrhythmic re-entrant wave dynamics.
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