[Research Articles] Cardiac ryanodine receptor calcium release deficiency syndrome

Cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) gain-of-function mutations cause catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, a condition characterized by prominent ventricular ectopy in response to catecholamine stress, which can be reproduced on exercise stress testing (EST). However, reports of sudden cardiac death (SCD) have emerged in EST-negative individuals who have loss-of-function (LOF) RyR2 mutations. The clinical relevance of RyR2 LOF mutations including their pathogenic mechanism, diagnosis, and treatment are all unknowns. Here, we performed clinical and genetic evaluations of individuals who suffered from SCD and harbored an LOF RyR2 mutation. We carried out electrophysiological studies using a programed electrical stimulation protocol consisting of a long-burst, long-pause, and short-coupled (LBLPS) ventricular extra-stimulus. Linkage analysis of RyR2 LOF mutations in six families revealed a combined logarithm of the odds ratio for linkage score of 11.479 for a condition associated with SCD with negative EST. A RyR2 LOF mouse model exhibited no catecholamine-provoked ventricular arrhythmias as in humans but did have substantial cardiac electrophysiological remodeling and an increased propensity for early afterdepolarizations. The LBLPS pacing protocol reliably induced ventricular arrhythmias in mice and humans having RyR2 LOF mutations, whose phenotype is otherwise concealed before SCD. Furthermore, treatment with quinidine and flecainide abolished LBLPS-induced ven...

Source: Science Translational Medicine - February 3, 2021 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Sun, B., Yao, J., Ni, M., Wei, J., Zhong, X., Guo, W., Zhang, L., Wang, R., Belke, D., Chen, Y.-X., Lieve, K. V. V., Broendberg, A. K., Roston, T. M., Blankoff, I., Kammeraad, J. A., von Alvensleben, J. C., Lazarte, J., Vallmitjana, A., Bohne, L. J., Rose Tags: Research Articles Source Type: research