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Biological pacemakers based on I f

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Abstract

Biological pacemaking as a replacement for or adjunct to electronic pacemakers has been a subject of interest since the 1990s. In the following pages, we discuss the rational for and progress made using a hyperpolarization activated, cyclic nucleotide gated channel isoform to carry the I f pacemaker current in gene and cell therapy approaches. Both strategies have resulted in effective biological pacemaker function over a period of weeks in intact animals. Moreover, the use of adult human mesenchymal stem cells as a platform for carrying pacemaker genes has resulted in the formation of functional gap junctions with cardiac myocytes in situ leading to effective and persistent propagation of pacemaker current. The approaches described are encouraging, suggesting that biological pacemakers based on this strategy can be brought to clinical testing.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to Ms Laureen Pagan for her careful attention to the preparation of the manuscript. The studies described were supported by USPHS-NHLBI grants HL 28958 and HL 67101, and by Guidant Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Center for Molecular Therapeutics, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, 630 West 168 Street, PH7West-321, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Michael R. Rosen, Ira S. Cohen & Richard B. Robinson

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Michael R. Rosen

  3. Departments of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Molecular Cardiology, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Michael R. Rosen, Peter R. Brink & Ira S. Cohen

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  1. Michael R. Rosen
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  2. Peter R. Brink
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  3. Ira S. Cohen
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  4. Richard B. Robinson
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Correspondence to Michael R. Rosen.

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Rosen, M.R., Brink, P.R., Cohen, I.S. et al. Biological pacemakers based on I f . Med Bio Eng Comput 45, 157–166 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0060-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0060-2

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