Author Spotlight: Developing a Translational Model for Atrial Fibrillation Research Across Species

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia, but the complex pathophysiology is still not fully understood. With our research, we contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to the initiation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation. Translating medical research from bench to bedside is a major challenge.

To address this, we established a translational pipeline from cellular models over mouse models to large animal models and pigs, allowing us to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets. Mice are often used for studying arrhythmia. However, it is challenging to study the pulmonary veins in mice.

The pulmonary veins are the main triggers for atrial fibrillation in patients. Our protocol provides an effective guideline for identifying and micro-dissecting pulmonary veins to conduct further investigations.