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1 Department of Physiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, USA
2 Institut Non-Lineaire de Nice, Valbonne, France
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: narine.sarvazyan{at}ttuhsc.edu.
Using both experimental and theoretical means, we have addressed the progression of ectopic activity from individual cardiac cells to a multicellular two-dimensional network. Experimental conditions that favor ectopic activity have been created by local perfusion of a small area of cardiomyocyte network (I-zone) with an isoproterenol-heptanol containing solution. Application of this solution initially slowed down and then fully blocked wave propagation inside the I-zone. After a brief lag period ectopically-active cells appeared in the I-zone, followed by evolution of the ectopic clusters into slowly propagating waves. The changing pattern of colliding and expanding ectopic waves confined to the I-zone persisted for as long as isoproterenol-heptanol environment was present. Upon restoration of control environment the ectopic waves from the I-zone broke out into the surrounding network causing arrhythmias. The observed sequence of events was also modeled by FitzHugh-Nagumo equations and included a cell's arrangement of two adjacent square regions of 20x20 cells. The control zone consisted of well-connected, excitable cells and the I-zone was made of weakly coupled cells (heptanol effect), which became spontaneously active as time evolved (isoproterenol effect). The dynamic events in the system have been studied numerically, using a finite difference method. Together, our experimental and computational data have revealed that the combination of low coupling, increased excitability and spatial heterogeneity can lead to the development of ectopic waves confined to the injured network. This transient condition appears to serve as an essential step for the ectopic activity to "mature" before escaping into the surrounding control network.
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