BACKGROUND

Atrial fibrosis plays an important role in the genesis of heart failure and atrial fibrillation. The left atrium (LA) exhibits a higher level of fibrosis than the right atrium (RA) in heart failure and atrial arrhythmia. However, the mechanism for the high fibrogenic potential of the LA fibroblasts remains unclear. Calcium (Ca) signaling contributes to the pro-fibrotic activities of fibroblasts. This study investigated whether differences in Ca homeostasis contribute to differential fibrogenesis in LA and RA fibroblasts.

METHODS

Ca imaging, a patch clamp assay and Western blotting were performed in isolated rat LA and RA fibroblasts.

RESULTS

The LA fibroblasts exhibited a higher Ca entry and gadolinium-sensitive current compared with the RA fibroblasts. The LA fibroblasts exhibited greater pro-collagen type I, type III, phosphorylated Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), phosphorylated phospholipase C (PLC), stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) and transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) 3 protein expression compared with RA fibroblasts. In the presence of 1 mmol/L ethylene glycol tetra-acetic acid (EGTA, Ca chelator), the LA fibroblasts had similar pro-collagen type I, type III and phosphorylated CaMKII expression compared with RA fibroblasts. Moreover, in the presence of KN93 (a CaMKII inhibitor, 10 μmol/L), the LA fibroblasts had similar pro-collagen type I and type III compared with RA fibroblasts.

CONCLUSION

The discrepancy of phosphorylated PLC signaling and gadolinium-sensitive Ca channels in LA and RA fibroblasts induces different levels of Ca influx, phosphorylated CaMKII expression and collagen production.