PATIENT SPECIFIC INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL-DERIVED CARDIOMYOCYTES FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND SCREENING FOR CATECHOLAMINERGIC POLYMORPHIC VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA

L. Barad, A. Novak, A. Lorber, L. Eldor, J. Itskovitz-Eldor, M. Eldar, M. Arad, O. Binah

Department of Physiology, The Rappaport Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel

Abstract

Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited arrhythmogenic disorder characterized by episodic syncope and sudden death. CPVT is caused by abnormal intracellular Ca2+ handling resulting from RYR2 or CASQ2 mutations. Our specific aims: (1) investigate the electrophysiological and Ca2+ handling properties of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CM) generated from CPVT patients carrying mutations in the RYR2 and CASQ2 gene (CPVT1 iPSC-CM, CPVT2 iPSC-CM). (2) Investigate the responsiveness of CPVT1 iPSC-CM and CPVT2 iPSC-CM to ?-adrenergic stimulation and antiarrhythmic drugs. Our major findings: (1) Isoproterenol generated arrhythmogenic delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs) and triggered arrhythmias in the mutated but not in the healthy iPSC-CM. Importantly, in the mutated cardiomyocytes isoproterenol also caused oscillatory pre-potentials which are arrhythmogenic late diastolic depolarizations. (2) The DADs were abolished by the ?-blocker bisoproplol. (3) Isoproterenol generated triggered beats and increased diastolic Ca2+ levels in CPVT1 iPSC-CM and CPVT2 iPSC-CM. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that iPSC-CM constitute a superb model for investigating the arrhythmogenic phenotype and mechanisms underlying inherited arrhythmias, and for drug screening.