Abstract 15420: Resolving a Controversy: Inhibition of Cardiac Ryanodine Receptors is the Principal Mechanism of Antiarrhythmic Action of Flecainide in Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel J Blackwell ◽  
Christian L Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro , reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide’s efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide’s efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo . Methods and Results: We synthesized N -methyl flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N -methylation reduces flecainide’s inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels but not on cardiac sodium channels. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo , flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL did not, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone was not enough to prevent arrhythmias. Hence, RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is critical for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action.

Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel Blackwell ◽  
Christian Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro, reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide's efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide's efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo. Methods and Results: We synthesized N-methylated flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N-methylation reduces flecainide's inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels incorporated into artificial lipid bilayers. N-Methylation did not alter flecainide's inhibitory activity on human cardiac sodium channels expressed in HEK293T cells. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo, flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL had no significant effect on arrhythmia burden, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone did not prevent ventricular tachycardia. Hence, RyR2 channel inhibition likely constitutes the principal mechanism of antiarrhythmic action of flecainide in CPVT.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroko Wakimoto ◽  
Ronny Alcalai ◽  
Lei Song ◽  
Michael Arad ◽  
Christine E Seidman ◽  
...  

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a familial arrhythmia syndrome caused by mutations in the ryanodine receptor (RyR2) or calsequestrin-2 (CASQ2) genes and characterized by exercise or emotional stress-induced sudden death. Beta-adrenergic blockers are only partially effective and other agents have not been widely tested. Recent studies have shown that CPVT is mediated by increased Ca 2+ leak through the RyR2 channel. Our aim was to determine whether agents that inhibit intracellular Ca 2+ leak can effectively prevent CPVT. Methods: The efficacy of intraperitoneal (IP) propranolol (1mcg/g), Mg 2+ (0.002mEq/g), verapamil (8 mcg/g) and diltiazem (8 mcg/g) were tested both in vivo and in vitro using CASQ2 mutant mouse CPVT model. In vivo studies included ambulatory ECG recordings at rest and following epinephrine stress (0.4 mcg/g IP) at baseline and after study drug administration. Experiments for each drug were performed on separate days to avoid confounding effects. In vitro studies included intracellular Ca 2+ transient analysis on isolated cardiomyocytes from mutant mice with and without epinephrine (5.5 μM). Results: All 4 drugs restored sinus rhythm and reduced the frequency of VT episodes induced by epinephrine in CASQ2 mutant mice. Only verapamil completely prevented epinephrine-induced VT in 87% of the mice (p<0.01). Cardiomyocyte studies in basal conditions revealed that Mg 2+ and verapamil inhibited sarcomere contraction and normalized the prolonged Ca 2+ reuptake period in CASQ2 mutants, but did not decrease baseline Ca 2+ peak height. Epinephrine-stressed mutant myocytes had increased diastolic Ca 2+ levels, lower Ca 2+ peak height and spontaneous SR Ca 2+ release events that were partially prevented by verapamil and Mg 2+ . Verapamil was more effective than Mg 2+ in reducing the frequency of spontaneous Ca 2+ releases induced by epinephrine. Conclusions: All 4 agents can inhibit ventricular arrhythmia in CPVT mouse model; however verapamil appears most effective in preventing arrhythmia in vivo and in modifying intracellular abnormal calcium handling. Calcium antagonists might have therapeutic value in CPVT and other RyR2-mediated arrhythmias and should be considered for human clinical studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1039-1042
Author(s):  
Utkarsh Kohli ◽  
Lisa Kuntz ◽  
Hemal M. Nayak

AbstractCatecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia is a rare (prevalence: 1/10,000) channelopathy characterised by exercise-induced or emotion-triggered ventricular arrhythmias. There is an overall paucity of genotype-phenotype correlation studies in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, and in vitro and in vivo effects of individual mutations have not been well characterised. We report an 8-year-old child who carried a mutation in the coding exon 8 of RYR2 (p.R169L) and presented with emotion-triggered sudden cardiac death. He was also found to have left ventricular hypertrophy, a combination which has not been reported before. We discuss the association between genetic variation in RYR2, particularly mutations causing replacement of arginine at position 169 of RYR2 and structural cardiac abnormalities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (8) ◽  
pp. 953-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolu Pan ◽  
Leonne Philippen ◽  
Satadru K. Lahiri ◽  
Ciaran Lee ◽  
So Hyun Park ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Granitz Christina ◽  
Jirak Peter ◽  
Strohmer Bernhard ◽  
Pölzl Gerhard

Abstract Background  Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a severe genetic arrhythmogenic disorder characterized by adrenergically induced ventricular tachycardia manifesting as stress-induced syncope and sudden cardiac death. While CPVT is not associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in most cases, the combination of both disease entities poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Case summary  We present the case of a young woman with CPVT. The clinical course since childhood was characterized by repetitive episodes of exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias and a brady-tachy syndrome due to rapid paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and sinus bradycardia. Medical treatment included propranolol and flecainide until echocardiography showed a dilated left ventricle with severely depressed ejection fraction when the patient was 32 years old. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed non-specific late gadolinium enhancement. Myocardial inflammation, however, was excluded by subsequent endomyocardial biopsy. Genetic analysis confirmed a mutation in the cardiac ryanodine receptor but no pathogenetic variant associated with DCM. Guideline-directed medical therapy for HFrEF was limited due to symptomatic hypotension. Over the next months, the patient developed progressive heart failure symptoms that were finally managed by heart transplantation. Discussion  Management in patients with CPVT and DCM is challenging, as Class I antiarrhythmic drugs are not recommended in structural heart disease and prophylactic internal cardioverter-defibrillator implantation without adjuvant antiarrhythmic therapy can be detrimental. Regular echocardiographic screening for DCM is recommendable in patients with CPVT. A multidisciplinary team of heart failure specialists, electrophysiologists, geneticists, and imaging specialists is needed to collaborate in the delivery of clinical care.


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