DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research)

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

FRET Microscopy for Real-time Monitoring of Signaling Events in Live Cells Using Unimolecular Biosensors

Julia U. Sprenger¹, Ruwan K. Perera¹, Konrad R. Götz¹, Viacheslav O. Nikolaev¹

¹Emmy Noether Group of the DFG, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, European Heart Research Insitute Göttingen, Georg August University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is a powerful technique for real-time monitoring of signaling events in live cells using various biosensors as reporters. Here we describe how to build a customized epifluorescence FRET imaging system from commercially available components and how to use it for FRET experiments.

Medicine

Impact of Intracardiac Neurons on Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmogenesis in an Ex Vivo Langendorff System

Christiane Jungen^1,2, Katharina Scherschel^1,2, Nadja I. Bork^2,3, Pawel Kuklik¹, Christian Eickholt¹, Helge Kniep¹, Niklas Klatt^1,2, Stephan Willems^1,2, Viacheslav O. Nikolaev^2,3, Christian Meyer^1,2

¹Department of Cardiology-Electrophysiology, cNEP (cardiac Neuro- and Electrophysiology research group), University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, ²DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), ³Institute of Experimental Cardiovascular Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Here, we present a protocol for the modulation of the intracardiac autonomic nervous system and the assessment of its influence on basic electrophysiology, arrhythmogenesis, and cAMP dynamics using an ex vivo Langendorff setup.

Medicine

Location, Dissection, and Analysis of the Murine Stellate Ganglion

Katharina Scherschel^1,2,3, Hanna Bräuninger^2,4, Klara Glufke², Christiane Jungen^2,4,5, Nikolaj Klöcker³, Christian Meyer^1,2,3

¹Division of Cardiology, EVK Düsseldorf, cNEP, cardiac Neuro- and Electrophysiology Research Consortium, ²DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), ³Institute of Neural and Sensory Physiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, ⁴Clinic for Cardiology, University Heart & Vascular Centre, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, ⁵Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center

Pathophysiological changes in the cardiac autonomic nervous system, especially in its sympathetic branch, contribute to the onset and maintenance of ventricular arrhythmias. In the present protocol, we show how to characterize murine stellate ganglia to improve the understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular processes.