Despite their critical role in chronic toxoplasmosis, the biology of Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites is poorly understood. In an attempt to address this gap, we optimized approaches to purify tissue cysts and analyzed the replicative potential of bradyzoites within these cysts. In order to quantify individual bradyzoites within tissue cysts, we have developed imaging software, BradyCount 1.0, that allows the rapid establishment of bradyzoite burdens within imaged optical sections of purified tissue cysts. While in general larger tissue cysts contain more bradyzoites, their relative “occupancy” was typically lower than that of smaller cysts, resulting in a lower packing density. The packing density permits a direct measure of how bradyzoites develop within cysts, allowing for comparisons across progression of the chronic phase. In order to capture bradyzoite endodyogeny, we exploited the differential intensity of TgIMC3, an inner membrane complex protein that intensely labels newly formed/forming daughters within bradyzoites and decays over time in the absence of further division. To our surprise, we were able to capture not only sporadic and asynchronous division but also synchronous replication of all bradyzoites within mature tissue cysts. Furthermore, the time-dependent decay of TgIMC3 intensity was exploited to gain insights into the temporal patterns of bradyzoite replication in vivo. Despite the fact that bradyzoites are considered replicatively dormant, we find evidence for cyclical, episodic bradyzoite growth within tissue cysts in vivo. These findings directly challenge the prevailing notion of bradyzoites as dormant nonreplicative entities in chronic toxoplasmosis and have implications on our understanding of this enigmatic and clinically important life cycle stage.

The autonomic nervous system drives variability in heart rate, vascular tone, cardiac ejection, and arterial pressure, but gender differences in autonomic regulation of the latter three parameters are not well documented. In addition to mean values, we used spectral analysis to calculate variability in arterial pressure, heart rate (R-R interval, RRI), stroke volume, and total peripheral resistance (TPR) and measured circulating levels of catecholamines and pancreatic polypeptide in two groups of 25 +/- 1.2-yr-old, healthy men and healthy follicular-phase women (40 total subjects, 10 men and 10 women per group). Group 1 subjects were studied supine, before and after beta- and muscarinic autonomic blockades, administered singly and together on separate days of study. Group 2 subjects were studied supine and drug free with the additional measurement of skin perfusion. In the unblocked state, we found that circulating levels of epinephrine and total spectral power of stroke volume, TPR, and skin perfusion ranged from two to six times greater in men than in women. The difference (men > women) in spectral power of TPR was maintained after beta- and muscarinic blockades, suggesting that the greater oscillations of vascular resistance in men may be alpha-adrenergically mediated. Men exhibited muscarinic buffering of mean TPR whereas women exhibited beta-adrenergic buffering of mean TPR as well as TPR and heart rate oscillations. Women had a greater distribution of RRI power in the breathing frequency range and a less negative slope of ln RRI power vs. ln frequency, both indicators that parasympathetic stimuli were the dominant influence on women's heart rate variability. The results of our study suggest a predominance of sympathetic vascular regulation in men compared with a dominant parasympathetic influence on heart rate regulation in women.

The molecular clock mechanism underlies circadian rhythms and is defined by a transcription-translation feedback loop. Bmal1 encodes a core molecular clock transcription factor. Germline Bmal1 knockout mice show a loss of circadian variation in heart rate and blood pressure, and they develop dilated cardiomyopathy. We tested the role of the molecular clock in adult cardiomyocytes by generating mice that allow for the inducible cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Bmal1 (iCS⌬Bmal1). ECG telemetry showed that cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Bmal1 (iCS⌬Bmal1 Ϫ/Ϫ ) in adult mice slowed heart rate, prolonged RR and QRS intervals, and increased episodes of arrhythmia. Moreover, isolated iCS⌬Bmal1 Ϫ/Ϫ hearts were more susceptible to arrhythmia during electromechanical stimulation. Examination of candidate cardiac ion channel genes showed that Scn5a, which encodes the principle cardiac voltage-gated Na ϩ channel (NaV1.5), was circadianly expressed in control mouse and rat hearts but not in iCS⌬Bmal1 Ϫ/Ϫ hearts. In vitro studies confirmed circadian expression of a human Scn5a promoter-luciferase reporter construct and determined that overexpression of clock factors transactivated the Scn5a promoter. Loss of Scn5a circadian expression in iCS⌬Bmal1 Ϫ/Ϫ hearts was associated with decreased levels of NaV1.5 and Na ϩ current in ventricular myocytes. We conclude that disruption of the molecular clock in the adult heart slows heart rate, increases arrhythmias, and decreases the functional expression of Scn5a. These findings suggest a potential link between environmental factors that alter the cardiomyocyte molecular clock and factors that influence arrhythmia susceptibility in humans. cardiac excitability; circadian; heart; ion channels; Scn5a; Na ϩ current CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS are approximate 24-h cycles in biology. These rhythms are present at the systems level, the tissue level, the single cell and molecular levels (16,33,34,38). There are several examples of circadian rhythms in the cardiovascular system, with heart rate, blood pressure, and substrate metabolism exhibiting distinct oscillations over time of day (12,13,40,41). The mechanism that underlies circadian function is the molecular clock. The molecular clock is defined, in a simple way, by a transcription-translation feedback mechanism that is composed of the core clock genes Clock, Bmal1, Per1, Per2, Cry1, and Cry2. CLOCK and BMAL1 are transcription factors that heterodimerize and activate transcription of Per1, Per2, Cry1, and Cry2. PER1, PER2, CRY1, and CRY2 form multimers in the cytoplasm of the cell, translocate to the nucleus, and act to inhibit CLOCK:BMAL1 function. This cycle takes ϳ24 h and is the fundamental mechanism underlying circadian rhythms. Components of the core clock have also been shown to regulate the expression of genes outside the clock mechanism, and these genes are designated as clock-controlled genes (CCGs). CCGs often encode transcription factors or proteins that control rate-limiting steps in cell physiology (42).In the last 8 years, resear...

Interactions of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) with blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed in conscious rats while they rested quietly in a cloth sock (n = 7), roamed freely in their home cage (n = 6), and then after anesthesia with pentobarbital (30 mg/kg; n = 7). The power and coherence spectra below 3 Hz were calculated from data collected for 9.56 min. In the conscious rat, SNA spectral power peaked at 0.4 Hz, whereas the majority of spectral power for both BP and HR occurred at frequencies lower than 0.4 Hz. However, there was an inconspicuous peak in the BP power spectra at 0.4 Hz that was not seen in the HR spectra. Coherence between SNA and BP peaked at a frequency of approximately 0.4 Hz, the same frequency at which the SNA spectral peaks occurred. In contrast, at frequencies below 0.4 Hz where maximum BP power occurred, the coherence was considerably lower. Anesthesia with pentobarbital lowered spectral power for BP, SNA, and HR but essentially did not change the coherence between SNA and BP. Interactions between respiration and each of the other variables were weak in the conscious rat. However, prominent respiratory interactions at approximately 1.2 Hz were evident after anesthesia. These data indicate a close coupling between SNA and BP at 0.4 Hz, raising the possibility that the BP spectral power at 0.4 Hz reliably reflects sympathetic activity.

Background Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) follows a diurnal variation. Data suggest the timing of SCD is influenced by circadian (~24 hour) changes in neurohumoral and cardiomyocyte-specific regulation of the heart’s electrical properties. Objective The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors BMAL1 and CLOCK coordinate the circadian expression of select genes. We tested whether Bmal1 expression in cardiomyocytes contributes to K+ channel expression and diurnal changes in ventricular repolarization. Methods We utilized transgenic mice that allow for the inducible cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Bmal1 (iCSΔBmal1−/−). We used quantitative PCR, voltage-clamping, promoter-reporter bioluminescence assays, and electrocardiographic (ECG) telemetry. Results Although several K+ channel gene transcripts were downregulated in iCSΔBmal1−/− mouse hearts, only Kcnh2 exhibited a robust circadian pattern of expression that was disrupted in iCSΔBmal1−/− hearts. Kcnh2 underlies the rapidly activating delayed-rectifier K+ current (IKr), and IKr recorded from iCSΔBmal1−/− ventricular cardiomyocytes was ~50% compared to control myocytes. Promoter-reporter assays demonstrated that the human Kcnh2 promoter is transactivated by the co-expression of BMAL1 and CLOCK. ECG analysis showed iCSΔBmal1−/− mice developed a prolongation in the heart rate corrected QT (QTc) interval during the light (resting)-phase. This was secondary to an augmented circadian rhythm in the uncorrected QT interval without a corresponding change in the RR interval. Conclusion The molecular clock in the heart regulates the circadian expression of Kcnh2, modifies K+ channel gene expression and is important for normal ventricular repolarization. Disruption of the cardiomyocyte circadian clock mechanism likely unmasks diurnal changes in ventricular repolarization that could contribute to an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias/SCD.

Abstract-Restitution of action potential duration (APD) is thought to be critical in activation instability. Although restitution is used to predict APD during sequential changes in diastolic interval (DI), currently used protocols to determine restitution do not use sequential changes in DI. We explored restitution using a new pacing protocol to change DI sequentially and independently of APD. Transmembrane potentials were recorded from right ventricular endocardial tissue isolated from six dogs. We used three patterns of DIs: oscillatory, to demonstrate differences in APDs depending on previous activation history; random, to minimize effects of previous activation history, each DI preceding an APD had an equal probability of being short or long; and linear, to compare restitution relationship obtained during sequential changes in DI with those obtained using currently used protocols; DIs mimicked those that resulted using currently used protocols, except that they changed in sequence. During oscillatory DIs, restitution showed bimodal trajectory similar to hysteresis. Decrease in APD during decreasing DIs was faster than increase in APD during increasing DIs. When effects of previous activation history were minimized, we observed that for a given DI there were multiple values of APD. Restitution relationship obtained during sequential changes in DI was shallower than those obtained using currently used protocols. Our results show that the new pacing protocol may permit direct evaluation of effects of memory on APD. Sequential and explicit control of DI suggests that use of a unimodal relationship to predict APD when DIs change in sequence may not be appropriate. Key Words: action potential duration Ⅲ electrical restitution Ⅲ arrhythmia Ⅲ fibrillation C ardiac electrical restitution is considered to importantly influence whether an electrical disturbance degenerates into a reentrant activation. 1 Specifically, it is hypothesized that the slope of action potential duration (APD) restitution function, which relates diastolic interval (DI) and following APD, can predict stability of electrical activation. 2-9 The hypothesized mechanism is that a slope equal to or greater than 1 can lead to alternans of APD and block propagation. Activation block, in turn, facilitates reentry, leading to arrhythmia. Conversely, for slopes less than 1, disturbances in APD get smaller, returning to a stable activation. Consistent with this view, in a few animal studies, drugs that decrease the slope of restitution have been shown to have antiarrhythmic properties. 10,11 Therefore, it has been suggested that investigation of restitution relationship may prove helpful during development of treatments for arrhythmia or in evaluation of efficacy of antiarrhythmia drugs. 2 The APD restitution function is widely quantified using one of two pacing schemes. In one scheme, tissue is paced for several tens of beats at constant cycle length (S1) followed by a stimulus (S2) delivered at progressively shorter or longer intervals. The APD resultin...

Purpose of Review Despite over a third of the world’s population being chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii, little is known about this largely asymptomatic phase of infection. This stage is mediated in vivo by bradyzoites within tissue cysts. The absence of overt symptoms has been attributed to the dormancy of bradyzoites. In this review, we reexamine the conventional view of chronic toxoplasmosis in light of emerging evidence challenging both the nature of dormancy and the consequences of infection in the CNS. Recent Findings New and emerging data reveal a previously unrecognized level of physiological and replicative capacity of bradyzoites within tissue cysts. These findings have emerged in the context of a reexamination of the chronic infection in the brain that correlates with changes in neuronal architecture, neurochemistry, and behavior that suggest that the chronic infection is not without consequence. Summary The emerging data driven by the development of new approaches to study the progression of chronic toxoplasma infection reveals significant physiological and replicative capacity for what has been viewed as a dormant state. The emergence of bradyzoite and tissue cyst biology from what was viewed as a physiological “black box” offers exciting new areas for investigation with direct implications on the approaches to drug development targeting this drug-refractory state. In addition, new insights from studies on the neurobiology on chronic infection reveal a complex and dynamic interplay between the parasite, brain microenvironment, and the immune response that results in the detente that promotes the life-long persistence of the parasite in the host.

A, Izu LT, Balke CW. Hypertensioninduced remodeling of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling in ventricular myocytes occurs prior to hypertrophy development. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 293: H3301-H3310, 2007. First published September 14, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00259.2007.-Hypertension is a major risk factor for developing cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Previous studies show that hypertrophied and failing hearts display alterations in excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling. However, it is unclear whether remodeling of the E-C coupling system occurs before or after heart disease development. We hypothesized that hypertension might cause changes in the E-C coupling system that, in turn, induce hypertrophy. Here we tested this hypothesis by utilizing the progressive development of hypertensive heart disease in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) to identify a window period when SHR had just developed hypertension but had not yet developed hypertrophy. We found the following major changes in cardiac E-C coupling during this window period. 1) Using echocardiography and hemodynamics measurements, we found a decrease of left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output after the onset of hypertension. 2) Studies in isolated ventricular myocytes showed that myocardial contraction was also enhanced at the same time.3) The action potential became prolonged. 4) The E-C coupling gain was increased.5) The systolic Ca 2ϩ transient was augmented. These data show that profound changes in E-C coupling already occur at the onset of hypertension and precede hypertrophy development. Prolonged action potential and increased E-C coupling gain synergistically increase the Ca 2ϩ transient. Functionally, augmented Ca 2ϩ transient causes enhancement of myocardial contraction that can partially compensate for the greater workload to maintain cardiac output. The increased Ca 2ϩ signaling cascade as a molecular mechanism linking hypertension to cardiac hypertrophy development is also discussed. heart failure; action potential; L-type Ca 2ϩ channel; ryanodine receptor SYSTEMIC HYPERTENSION is a major risk factor for cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. The severe impact of hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is underscored by the fact that ϳ30% of the US adult population have hypertension (17) and 60% of these develop cardiac hypertrophy (13, 36). However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms linking hypertension to heart diseases remain unclear. Extensive evidence has demonstrated that cardiac hypertrophy is associated with remodeling of the excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling system and enhanced myocardial contraction (11,22,33), and heart failure is marked by diminished contractility (2, 3, 6, 18). An important yet unanswered question is whether changes in E-C coupling are directly linked to hypertension or are merely markers of later-stage hypertrophy. We hypothesized that hypertension might directly cause remodeling of the cardiac E-C coupling system.Previous studies using hearts that had already developed s...