This protocol illustrates a method for optogenetic stimulation of intrinsic cardiac neurons in transgenic mouse hearts. The approach described is used for investigating the kinetics of sudden cardiac neuron activation in ex vivo perfused hearts and the interactions between cholinergic and catecholaminergic activity.
A balance of cholinergic and catecholaminergic activation is necessary to maintain heart health. Interrogating the interaction between these pathways can be done using optogenetics through selective expression of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in cardiac autonomic neurons. Such cardiac applications of optogenetics allow for the study of the intrinsic release of neurotransmitters in a spatiotemporal manner. This method illustrates an ex vivo approach for specific optogenetic stimulation of cardiac neurons in perfused mouse hearts. Transgenic mice were bred to express ChR2 in either choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) or tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) neurons throughout the body. A micro-LED (465 nm) encased in a silicone elastomer was prepared for stimulating the neurons of the right atrium that innervate the sinoatrial node. The micro-LED was connected to a function generator set to pulse waves at 10 Hz with a 30 ms pulse width. Hearts with confirmed expression were excised and retrogradely perfused on a Langendorff system circulating Krebs-Henseleit solution. Electrocardiogram (ECG), temperature, and coronary flow rate were recorded using the LabChart software. Once the heart stabilized, the micro-LED was placed on the right atrium and tested for optimal heart rate response. An application of this approach combines the intrinsic release of cholinergic neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) during optogenetic activation of a ChAT-ChR2 mouse heart simultaneously with increasing exogenous catecholaminergic neurotransmitter (norepinephrine) added to the perfusate. The resulting changes in heart rate during the simultaneous cholinergic and catecholaminergic activation are presented. This method describes a valuable experimental approach for investigating the kinetics of sudden intrinsic autonomic neuron activation in perfused hearts and the interactions between cardiac cholinergic and catecholaminergic activity.
Optogenetics is a method to introduce light-sensitive proteins (opsins) into targeted cell populations. This enables spatiotemporal modulation of specific cells and tissues that cannot be achieved using electrical or chemical means1. Cardiac applications of optogenetics have become increasingly popular over the past 15 years2. Photostimulation of excitatory opsins such as channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a cation, in cardiac myocytes or neurons results in cellular depolarization, causing changes in heart rhythm3. There are two ways to selectively express opsins in cell populations using the Cre-lox approach: viral transduction4 and crossbreeding transgenic animals5. Selective expression of ChR2 in specific autonomic neurons can be accomplished by crossbreeding to create offspring that express ChR2 in either cholinergic or catecholaminergic neurons using cell-specific promoters6. One parent with a floxed ChR2 gene can be mated with a parent that expresses Cre recombinase under the control of a promoter such as tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, catecholaminergic neurons) or choline acetyltransferase (ChAT, cholinergic neurons). Offspring then expresses ChR2 in either TH or ChAT neurons throughout the body7.
The functional response of the heart to acute activation of autonomic neurons can be investigated using promoter-driven expression of ChR2 within specific neuronal populations, for example cholinergic or catecholaminergic neurons. Photostimulation pulse interval and intensity can be varied to control the depolarization rate of those ChR2-expressing neurons to study how levels of neural activation modulate cardiac function8. For this method, neurons will be used to refer to any cell bodies, axons, and/or axonal projections that are optogenetically activated for simplicity. It is also possible to combine photostimulation with chemical activation by the introduction of drugs or neurotransmitters to interrogate simultaneous effects on heart rhythm and contractility9. For example, optogenetic cholinergic stimulation can be combined with the injection of exogenous norepinephrine (NE) to examine the impact of concurrent autonomic activation in the heart. Conducting such studies using isolated perfused hearts has the advantage of providing a well-controlled experimental platform to study functional changes caused by photoactivation10. Changes in ECG morphology, heart rate, and coronary flow rate can be monitored while temperature, oxygenation, and perfusion pressure are tightly controlled.
The objective of this protocol is to present an experimental approach to activate a specific population of autonomic neurons in mouse hearts to study changes in heart rate. The construction and usage of a micro-LED device for optogenetic activation in perfused hearts is also presented. Hearts from mice expressing ChR2 in cholinergic or catecholaminergic neurons were excised and retrogradely perfused with an oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit solution at constant pressure. ChR2 expressed in the neurons of the right atrium (RA) were photostimulated at a pulse rate of 10 Hz with a 30 ms pulse width. Instantaneous heart rate was calculated using the RR interval and monitored for changes during photostimulation. An example experiment to study heart rate kinetics during intrinsic optogenetic ChAT neuron photostimulation simultaneously with beta-adrenergic activation using exogenous norepinephrine is also described.
All animal protocols were approved by the George Washington University's Animal Care and Use Committee and followed the National Institute of Health's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
1. Micro-LED light source construction
2. Experimental preparation
Figure 1: Micro-LED construction. Simplified overview of steps for constructing micro-LED light source. Two wires are soldered to the micro-LED and inserted into a 200 Β΅L pipette tip, then superglued (Step 1). Silicone elastomer is mixed at a 10:1 ratio and placed in a vacuum chamber to remove bubbles (Step 2). The silicone elastomer is poured into a microcentrifuge tube, and the micro-LED pipette tip is inserted and allowed to cure overnight (Step 3). The insulated micro-LED is then removed from the tube, and excess silicone should be trimmed (Step 4). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Transgenic mouse breeding scheme. A parent mouse with the lox-dependent ChR2 gene is crossbred with another mouse with a Cre promoter. A parent mouse with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) Cre promoter will produce heterozygous offspring where 50% will express ChR2 in catecholaminergic cells. A parent mouse with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) Cre promoter will produce homozygous offspring where 100% will express ChR2 in cholinergic cells. Expression is confirmed via genotyping. This figure has been modified with permission from12. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
3. Heart excision and perfusion
4. Optogenetic activation
5. Experimental procedure and data analysis
Figure 3: Mouse heart bath configuration. A cannulated mouse heart showing placement of LED device and ECG electrodes. A chassis ground is present to reduce noise from surrounding electronics. ECG needle electrodes are placed based on Einthoven's triangle. Abbreviations: LA = left arm; RA = right arm; LL = left leg; G = ground. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
A Langendorff constant pressure perfusion system (Figure 4) should be able to maintain mouse heart rates of at least 300 bpm for well over an hour if appropriate oxygenation, temperature, and coronary flow are sustained. With this setup, aortic perfusate temperature relies on coronary flow, so water bath temperatures may need to be adjusted as the flow rate changes to maintain the aortic temperature at 37 Β°C. Mouse heart coronary flow rates typically range from 1.5-4.5 mL/min, depending on the size of the heart. Maintaining perfusate temperature at 37 Β°C during flow rate fluctuations is necessary for consistent heart function and is especially important for constant pressure perfusion. The perfusion system described is designed to maintain a hydrostatic pressure of 70 mmHg through the perfusate column height. This is accomplished with a pump rate that provides consistent overflow from the top reservoir. The perfusate can be supplemented with 20 Β΅M of the vasodilator cromakalin to improve and maintain normal or supranormal coronary flow to ensure complete myocardial oxygenation14.
Photostimulation of cholinergic neurons in ChAT-ChR2 mouse hearts at 10 Hz and 30 ms pulse width should result in a nearly instantaneous drop in heart rate. Efficient photostimulation of cholinergic neurons in adequately perfused hearts should lead to a reduction in heart rate of at least 100 bpm. Figure 5 shows an immediate drop of 75 bpm when the micro-LED is turned on that continues to drop until it reaches a maximum decrease of 135 bpm. Within half a second of turning off the micro-LED, the heart rate increases to 175 bpm before gradually returning to pre-stimulation levels. A six-lead ECG is presented to illustrate the differences in RR interval before, during, and after stimulation (Figure 5B). Leads aVR, aVL, and aVF are calculated in the LabChart software using Leads I and II.
Photostimulation of catecholaminergic neurons in TH-ChR2 mouse hearts causes a more gradual (exponential) change in heart rate compared to photostimulation of cholinergic neurons. This is likely caused by beta1-adrenergic activation requiring the second messenger system of cAMP activating PKA, which phosphorylates target proteins, whereas muscarinic activation does not. Figure 6 demonstrates a 135 bpm heart rate increase over the course of 10 s. An additional 10 s is needed after the light is turned off to return to normal sinus rhythm. If the micro-LED is not properly insulated, it may heat the heart, causing an increase in heart rate. This heating response is less intense than TH-ChR2 stimulation; therefore, the change in heart rate is less pronounced.
One application of this protocol is to use optogenetic stimulation to depolarize neurons, leading to the release of endogenous neurotransmitters while simultaneously adding exogenous neurotransmitters to the perfusate. Figure 7A illustrates endogenous acetylcholine release from a ChAT-ChR2 mouse heart with a bolus dose of NE added to the perfusate. Without NE present, photostimulation caused the heart rate to drop more than 100 bpm and maintained this drop for the duration of stimulation. Whereas with a large dose of NE (2000 nM), the maximum heart rate drop during photostimulation was 40 bpm. The heart rate immediately began rising, almost reaching pre-stimulation levels before the light was turned off. This result indicates that optogenetic suppression of heart rate by ChAT neuron photostimulation was unable to fully suppress increases in heart rate resulting from a high dose of NE, causing shorter time of heart rate suppression and lower decreases in heart rate (Figure 7B). These results are consistent with prior work in large animals that demonstrated progressive AV node block during simultaneous vagal nerve and stellate ganglia stimulation12,13.
Figure 4: Experimental setup. Diagram of perfusion system. Arrows show the direction of perfusate. Superfusion perfusate is indicated by dashed lines and components are red outlined. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Representative cholinergic photostimulation response. (A) A 6 lead ECG during ChAT-ChR2 optogenetic activation. Solid blue lines indicate the micro-LED being turned on/off. Red dashed boxes indicate the time for (B) snippets. (B) Half-second snippets of ECG signal before (a), during (b), and after photostimulation (c). RR interval is shown for each section. (C) Heart rate (top) is shown along with pulse waves from a function generator (bottom). The heart rate starts at 450 bpm and drops to 315 bpm after 8 s of photostimulation before returning to 410 bpm 7 s after photostimulation ends. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 6: Representative catecholaminergic photostimulation response. (A) AΒ 6 lead ECG during TH-ChR2 optogenetic activation. Solid blue lines indicate the micro-LED being turned on/off. Red dashed boxes indicate the time for (B) snippets. (B) Half-second snippets of ECG signal before (a), during (b), and after photostimulation (c). RR interval is shown for each section. (C) Heart rate (top) is shown along with pulse waves from a function generator (bottom). The heart rate starts at 390 bpm and peaks to 525 bpm after 10 s of photostimulation before returning to 390 bpm 8 s after photostimulation ends. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 7: Cholinergic photostimulation with exogenous NE. (A) Heart rate response during ChAT-ChR2 photostimulation with increasing doses of NE added to perfusate. Once the heart rate reached a maximum increase due to NE, the micro-LED was turned on for approximately 10 s. Heart rate suppression was still possible at high doses of NE, but the duration of stimulation decreased as the dose increased. (B) The amount of time the heart rate stayed suppressed. Times closer to 10 s generally stayed suppressed for the full duration of stimulation. (C) The drop in heart rate during photostimulation was less severe at higher doses of NE than at low doses. Low doses resulted in an average decrease in heart rate of 40%, while higher doses only dropped 25%. An unpaired t-test was performed to assess statistical significance. Presented as standard error of the mean * p < 0.05. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Optogenetic stimulation of intrinsic cardiac autonomic neurons produced comparable levels of heart rate response as electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve or stellate ganglia14,15. Electrical stimulation of excised perfused hearts, however, lacks the advantage of being able to easily target specific neuron populations. Pharmacologic activation offers the benefit of targeting specific receptors but has no spatial specificity, and the response time is dependent upon coronary flow rate. Optogenetic activation provides the benefit of near-instantaneous response, the targeting of neuronal populations, and the ability to change the level of photostimulation16. In this protocol, we have also explained how to construct a simple, low-cost light source for photostimulating the intrinsic cardiac neurons.
Developing a further understanding of the impact of the intracardiac nervous system will facilitate better diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Selective expression of ChR2 enables new hypotheses related to the activity of specific nerve populations during disease to be tested. Nerve populations throughout the heart could be interrogated this way, such as intrinsic cardiac ganglia around the pulmonary veins or throughout the ventricles. For example, in mouse models of myocardial infarction, photostimulation of intrinsic autonomic neurons could be useful for interrogating electrophysiological changes in border zone tissue as the infarct evolves and neurons undergo transdifferentiation17. In this protocol, we describe another example involving controlled experiments of acute cardiac responses to simultaneous activation of cholinergic and catecholaminergic pathways where the combination of optogenetic and pharmacological agents allows unique dose responses to be examined. This concurrent activation is a phenomenon associated with drowning, known as autonomic conflict, which has yet to be fully elucidated18. Additionally, given appropriate light, dye, and filter combinations, this protocol can be combined with cardiac optical mapping to study the acute effects of autonomic neuron stimulation on cardiac electrophysiology and neuro-cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms19,20,21.
There are several important concepts to be considered when using this protocol to study the intrinsic cardiac nervous system in excised perfused hearts. Mouse hearts are sensitive to slight changes in the perfusion environment. Closely monitoring heart rate is useful to identify problems with coronary perfusion that may cause low oxygenation of the myocardium, ischemia, and poor heart function. The protocol recommends oxygenating the perfusate at both the main and top reservoir to limit potential issues. Fully submerging the oxygenation tubing helps to guarantee optimal oxygen levels in the perfusate. An ultraviolet flashlight can be shone on the heart to reveal NADH fluorescence indicating hypoxia/ischemia, and oxygenation can be adjusted accordingly19,20. Perfusate temperature is dependent on coronary flow rate during constant pressure perfusion. If the coronary flow rate drops, the aortic perfusate temperature may also drop due to cooling in the tubing proximal to the aortic cannula, resulting in a lower heart rate. Increasing the perfusate water bath temperature can help reverse this issue. This protocol also utilizes a superfusion loop to maintain a heart bath temperature of 37 Β°C. Drops in heart bath temperature may require that the superfusion flow rate be increased. The micro-LED is another source of potential changes in heart temperature because the temperature of the RA could increase during photostimulation. If the silicone elastomer that encases the device is too thin, then the micro-LED may get warm and heat the SA node, resulting in an unexpected increase in heart rate. Testing the micro-LED light source on a wild type heart can be useful to gauge heating levels. The micro-LED should not cause a heart rate increase of more than 10% over 30 s. If this occurs, the silicone elastomer should be replaced.
The goal of ex vivo perfused heart experiments is to recreate near physiological conditions with controllable variables, but they come with limitations22. Crystalloid perfusate is the standard for these experiments; however, it can limit oxygen delivery to the mitochondria under high-stress conditions23,24. Furthermore, the perfusate lacks circulating hormones that would occur naturally in vivo. An additional limitation is that variable light intensity and placement of the micro-LED can result in local disparities in neural stimulation, so some adjustments in positioning the micro-LED above the heart are always required before beginning an experimental protocol.
In summary, this protocol illustrates an ex vivo approach for specific optogenetic stimulation of cardiac neurons in perfused mouse hearts. A micro-LED light source was constructed to stimulate the neurons of the right atrium. An application of this approach combined the intrinsic release of acetylcholine during optogenetic activation of a ChAT-ChR2 mouse heart simultaneously with increasing exogenous NE. The resulting changes in heart rate during the simultaneous catecholaminergic and cholinergic activation were presented. This protocol describes a valuable experimental approach for investigating the kinetics of sudden intrinsic autonomic neuron activation in perfused hearts and the interactions between cardiac cholinergic and catecholaminergic activity.
No conflicts of interest to declare.
This work was supported byΒ NIH R01 HL144157 to MWK, NIH R01 HL144157Β to EE and MWK, and NIH R01s HL147279 andΒ HL146169 to MWK and DM, and a Collins DistinguishedΒ Doctoral Fellowship to RR.
Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
#3c Forceps (x2) | Dumont | 11231-20 | |
0.2 ΞΌm Cellulose Nitrate Membrane Filter | Whatman | 7182-004 | For filtering KH |
0.5 ml, Microcentrifuge Tube | Ultra Cruz | sc-200269 | |
10 ΞΌm Nuclepore Membrane Filter | Whatman | 111115 | For system filter |
Analog IncubatorΒ | Qunicy Labs | 12-140 | |
Aortic Cannula | Harvard ApparatusΒ | 73-2798 | |
Arbitrary Function Generator | Tektronix | AFG3021B | |
Braided Silk Suture 4-0 | Surgical Specialties Look | SP116 | |
CaCl2 | Sigma-Aldrich | C1016 | |
Curved Hemostat | Ted Pella | 53065 | |
Einthoven Goldberger Module | Hugo Sachs Elektronik | 73-1778 | |
Flexible Silicone Wire 30AWG | BNTECHGO | 619317716902 | |
Glucose | Sigma-Aldrich | G8270 | |
Heavy Curved Iris ForcepsΒ | Aesculap | OC022R | |
Heparin Sodium Injection | Sagent | 400-30 | |
Iris Scissors | Ted Pella | 13215 | |
Isoflurane Solution | Covetrus | 029405 | |
KCl | Sigma-Aldrich | P3911 | |
KH2PO4 | Sigma-Aldrich | P9791 | |
LabChart 8Β | ADInstruments | Data acquisition software | |
MgSO4 | Sigma-Aldrich | M7506 | |
Microdissecting Scissors | WPI | 504520 | |
Micro-LED | Dialight | 598-8091-107F | |
NaCl | Sigma-Aldrich | S9625 | |
NaHCO3 | Sigma-Aldrich | S6014 | |
Optical Power Meter | Thorlabs | PM100D | |
PowerLab 8/35 | ADInstruments | PL3508 | |
Self-openingΒ Precision Scissors | Excelta | 366 | |
Single Animal Anesthesia Machine | E-Z Systems | EZ-108SA | |
Soldering Station | Weller | WES51 | |
SureOne Filter Pipette Tips | Fisherbrand | 02-707-478 | |
SYLGARD 184 Silicone Elastomer Kit | DOW | 04019862 | |
Tissue Forceps | Ted Pella | 13220 | |
Tubing Flow System | Transonic | TS410 |
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