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Scientists have identified a gene that regulates heart rhythm
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Researchers have identified a gene that affects the quality of intercellular contacts in the cardiac conduction system. Disruptions in its functioning caused a mismatch and poor propagation of the neuromuscular signal in the cardiac muscle.
Cardiac arrhythmia is one of the most common diseases, and its combination with other cardiovascular diseases inevitably leads to early death. According to statistics, in the US alone, about 300,000 people die annually due to heart attacks complicated by arrhythmia.
As is known, normal heart function is determined by the coordinated contraction of muscle fibers, which in turn depends on the rapid and coordinated propagation of the electrical impulse through the cardiomyocytes. De-synchronization of excitation and contraction in different areas of the heart leads to arrhythmia.
Although the symptoms of this disease have long been well known, the causes of its occurrence, alas, are not so. In this sense, the results obtained by a group of scientists from the Gladstone Institute (San Francisco, USA) seem extremely important. In an article published in the journal PNAS, the researchers report that they have managed to find a gene that determines the heart rhythm. It is called Irx3 and is part of a group of so-called homeotic genes. These genes encode various transcription factors that play a major role in the processes of organ and tissue formation.
It is obvious that the transmission of excitation from cell to cell is possible only with normal intercellular contact. Irx3 regulates the synthesis of two proteins, connexins, which form dense intercellular junctions in the cardiac conduction system. It can be said that the Irx3 factor monitors the density of contacts in the electrical circuit (and in different parts of this circuit, the contacts are slightly different). In mice with the Irx3 gene switched off, the electrical impulse spread slowly and reached its destination with difficulty. As a result, the animals developed severe arrhythmia, since the neuromuscular signals were out of sync.
In the future, the scientists plan to check whether there is a connection between cases of arrhythmia and mutations in the Irx3 gene. If there is, this will open the way to the creation of gene therapy for severe cardiovascular disorders.
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