A sexy approach to pacemaking: differences in function and molecular make up of the sinoatrial node.

Conclusion- This study has identified key differences in the expression of Cav1.3, Kir3.1 and Nkx2-5 at mRNA and/or protein levels between male and female SAN. Cav1.3 plays an important role in the pacemaker function of the SAN, therefore the higher intrinsic heart rate of the female SAN could be caused by the higher expression of Cav1.3. The differences identified in this study advance our understanding of sex differences in cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias. PMID: 30968943 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Histology and Histopathology - Category: Cytology Tags: Histol Histopathol Source Type: research