On preparation, handling, and successful optical mapping of cardiac tissue slices

Understanding how the different organs in the body work is and always has been one of the key focuses of the scientific community. Through this research, biologists are able to gain key insight into the workings of the human body and this proves essential when trying to determine potential therapies for organ dysfunction. One of the methods researchers employ in order to try and learn more about the organs they are studying is to use tissue slices. These slices can function as pseudo two dimensional models for research into organ pathophysiology and drug effects. However, until recently, not much attention has been given to the use of tissue slices in the study of the heart largely because of the difficulty in obtaining the proper thickness and because of the fragile nature of tissue recovery. Wang et al. from the University of Oxford set out to try and further the understanding of using tissue slices in cardiac research by looking at the preparation, handling and optical mapping of transmembrane potential and intracellular concentration transients (CaT). Their results help shed light onto the potentials for this method in understanding the heart and this opens the door for new pharmacological research and development.

In their study, Wang and his colleagues were attempting to determine things such as the thickness of the slice and the recovery time needed in order to obtain a functional and usable tissue slice. To do this they needed to accurately monitor the activity of certain substrates in relation to transmembrane potential and CaT. They used the fluorescent calcium indicator Cal-520^® AM to do this and were able to obtain the reliable results that they did because of the quality of this indicator. Compared to previous calcium indicators, Cal-520^® AM has a significantly smaller signal to noise ratio, which decreases interference on the reading and allows for more reliable results. Without accurate readings like those provided by Cal-520^® AM, it would have been far more difficult for Wang and his colleagues to determine the quality of their tissue slice.

The use of cardiac tissue slices is becoming more and more popular as a model system for electrophysiology and pharmacological research and development. The results obtained in this study give valuable insight into the preparation, handling and optical mapping of certain heart tissues slices and can be at least somewhat attributed to the dependability and quality of the readings afforded by Cal-520^® AM. What sets this indicator apart is its convenient loading and localization. Researchers can insert it into a sample and know that it will not be damaging the tissue under study and that it will be maintained in the area they need it to be maintained. The further development of the techniques used in extracting cardiac tissue slices is essential for the advancement of understanding as well as for the development of new treatments for heart diseases. These conditions represent a significant portion of the major ailments people deal with today and understanding them will go a long way towards their eradication.

References

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1. Ken Wang, Peter Lee, Gary R. Mirams, Padmini Sarathchandra, Thomas K. Borg, David J. Gavaghan, Peter Kohl, Christian Bollensdorff. Cardiac tissue slices: preparation, handling, and successful optical mapping American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology (2015) DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00556.2014