The FASEB J: How the "innocent" virus attacks the cardiac electronic delivery system.

, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --- -- In a recent study, researchers at Virginia Tech looked at how a virus, usually benign, can attack a person's heart and can have fatal consequencespostdoctoral researcher Patrick Calhoun and his mentor James Smyth found that adenoviruses not only decouple electrical signal pathways in the heart, but also impair cells' ability to produce new signalsThis is the first time that researchers have tested the effects of adenoviruses on human heart cells cultured in vitro(photo:the study, published this month in the journal FASEB Journal, may increase understanding of arrhythmiaArrhythmia is a problem with the electrical signals of the heart, which can lead to the cessation of coordinated cardiac beatings and even sudden cardiac deathSmyth's lab's research focused on ventricular arrhythmia, an electrical disturbance that affects all chambers of the heartAtrial fibrillation is the most common type of arrhythmia, affecting more than 2 million people in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, national health institutemyocardial cells communicate with each other through a channel called gap connectionGap connections are formed by proteins called connecting proteins that create a bridge between the two cells to share electrical signals that allow myocardial cells to beat in harmony, but gap connections can also warn neighboring cells that they are being attacked by virusesprevious work at Smyth's lab found that acute infections caused by adenoviruses reduced levels of the key gap-connected protein connexin43When the virus controls the gap connection, it slows down the production of connexin43, disrupts the electrical system that keeps the heart beating normally, leads to arrhythmia, and sometimes sudden cardiac deathCalhoun has confirmed that the virus can effectively hijack systems used by myocardial cells to communicateSimilar studies are often conducted using mouse models, but previous scientists lacked effective models of adenoviruses and the human heart"This study has some limitations in extending the findings to the living heart because it is done in vitro, is done outside the human body, but it is still of great value," saidSmyth"Basic research provides the basis for the discovery of transformational studies of therapies and diagnostic methods that improve human health." (Bio Valley Bioon.com) source: Scientists science eusually harmless virus the heart's electrical system original source: Patrick J Calhoun et al, Adenovirus targetsional and post-postalals to the gap , the FASEB , 0
2