This review summarizes the evidence for and against the presence of heterocellular electrotonic coupling between cardiac myocytes and non-myocytes in native myocardium in vivo.
This review highlights the ongoing debate and existing evidence regarding the in vivo existence and functional relevance of electrotonic coupling between cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts.
Heterocellular electrotonic coupling between cardiac myocytes and non-excitable connective tissue cells has been a long-established and well-researched fact in vitro. Whether or not such coupling exists in vivo has been a matter of considerable debate. This paper reviews the development of experimental insight and conceptual views on this topic, describes evidence in favour of and against the presence of such coupling in native myocardium, and identifies directions for further study needed to resolve the riddle, perhaps less so in terms of principal presence which has been demonstrated, but undoubtedly in terms of extent, regulation, patho-physiological context, and actual relevance of cardiac myocyte-non-myocyte coupling in vivo. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Myocyte-Fibroblast Signalling in Myocardium."
Köhl et al. (Wed,) conducted a review in Fibroblast-myocyte electrotonic coupling. Fibroblast-myocyte electrotonic coupling was evaluated. This review summarizes the evidence for and against the presence of heterocellular electrotonic coupling between cardiac myocytes and non-myocytes in native myocardium in vivo.