Autoimmune Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is by far the most common cardiac arrhythmia. In about 3% of individuals, AF develops as a primary disorder without any identifiable trigger (idiopathic or historically termed lone AF). In line with the emerging field of autoantibody-related cardiac arrhythmias, the objective of this study was to explore whether autoantibodies targeting cardiac ion channels can underlie unexplained AF. METHODS: Peptide microarray was used to screen patient samples for autoantibodies. We compared patients with unexplained AF (n=37 pre-existent AF; n=14 incident AF on follow-up) to age- and sex-matched controls (n=37). Electrophysiological properties of the identified autoantibody were then tested in vitro with the patch clamp technique and in vivo with an experimental mouse model of immunization. RESULTS: A common autoantibody response against K(ir)3.4 protein was detected in patients with AF and even before the development of clinically apparent AF. K(ir)3.4 protein forms a heterotetramer that underlies the cardiac acetylcholine-activated inwardly rectifying K(+) current, I(KACh). Functional studies on human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived atrial cardiomyocytes showed that anti-K(ir)3.4 IgG purified from patients with AF shortened action potentials and enhanced the constitutive form of I(KACh), both key mediators of AF. To establish a causal relationship, we developed a mouse model of K(ir)3.4 autoimmunity. Electrophysiological study in K(ir)3.4-immunized mice showed that K(ir)3.4 autoantibodies significantly reduced atrial effective refractory period and predisposed animals to a 2.8-fold increased susceptibility to AF. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of an autoimmune pathogenesis of AF with direct evidence of K(ir)3.4 autoantibody-mediated AF.