Optical Mapping of Action Potentials and Calcium Transients in the Mouse Heart

The mouse heart is a popular model for cardiovascular studies due to the existence of low cost technology for genetic engineering in this species. Cardiovascular physiological phenotyping of the mouse heart can be easily done using fluorescence imaging employing various probes for transmembrane potential (V(m)), calcium transients (CaT), and other parameters. Excitation-contraction coupling is characterized by action potential and intracellular calcium dynamics; therefore, it is critically important to map both V(m) and CaT simultaneously from the same location on the heart(1-4). Simultaneous optical mapping from Langendorff perfused mouse hearts has the potential to elucidate mechanisms underlying heart failure, arrhythmias, metabolic disease, and other heart diseases. Visualization of activation, conduction velocity, action potential duration, and other parameters at a myriad of sites cannot be achieved from cellular level investigation but is well solved by optical mapping(1,5,6). In this paper we present the instrumentation setup and experimental conditions for simultaneous optical mapping of V(m) and CaT in mouse hearts with high spatio-temporal resolution using state-of-the-art CMOS imaging technology. Consistent optical recordings obtained with this method illustrate that simultaneous optical mapping of Langendorff perfused mouse hearts is both feasible and reliable.