Using powerful X-rays, University of British Columbia researchers have identified the cause of arrhythmia.

Presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Bos­ton, the 3D animated model reveals for the first time how gene mutations affect the crucial pathway in heart muscle cells that controls its rhythm.

The heart runs on calcium, and every heart beat is preceded by calcium ions rushing into heart muscle cells. A special protein then opens the pathway for calcium to be released from compartments within these cells, initiating the contraction. Mutations to the gene that forms this protein have been linked to arrhythmia and sudden cardiac deaths in otherwise healthy people.

Reconstructing the pathway and its dynamic motion enabled research­ers to see the process in action, revealing that these gene mutations destabilize the pathway’s structure, causing calcium to be released prematurely. Finding a way to stabilize the pathway could save lives.
Animated movies and images of the calcium pathway are available at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/?p=79907 [9].