Programa del congreso

Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) is a rare, inherited arrhythmia linked to mutations in calcium-handling genes like RYR2. Children and adolescents are commonly affected, if untreated, carries a high risk of sudden cardiac death, with up to 31% of patients dying by the age of 30. The condition involves abnormal Ca²⁺ cycling, causing delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs) and triggered activity, which are difficult to reproduce in existing models. We present a heart-on-a-chip platform that integrates HL-1 cardiomyocytes, GCaMP6 Ca²⁺ sensors, and fabricated interdigitated electrodes to reproduce CPVT dynamics and evaluate anti-arrhythmic drugs in real time. Drug treatment with flecainide (50 μM) maintained Ca²⁺ amplitude of 0.35 ΔF/F, while reducing the beat rate to 31 beats/min under 1 Hz pacing, yielding a highly stable rhythm. At a higher dose (100 μM), flecainide further reduced the rate to 27 beats/min but also suppressed Ca²⁺ transient amplitude to 0.12 ΔF/F₀. These dose-dependent effects underscore the platform’s ability to capture both rhythm stabilization and drug-induced modulation of Ca²⁺ handling, providing a powerful tool for mechanistic studies and therapeutic screening in CPVT.