Research is focused on elucidating the mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias in which the regulation and (mal)function of ion channels, transporters and calcium-handling proteins plays a central role. Insight into arrhythmia mechanisms is achieved by studying electrical activity with the patch-clamp technique in various preparations including: isolated neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes, isolated intracardiac neurons, mammalian cell expression systems etc. Specific projects include:
- The cardiac sodium channel as part of a multi-molecular protein complex
- Differential expression and regulation of the cardiac sodium channels localized to different subcellular micro-domains of the cardiac myocyte
- Biophysical properties of cardiac and neuronal ion channel mutations associated with arrhythmia syndromes
- The role of the cardiac autonomous nervous system in atrial fibrillation: effects of neuropeptides on atrial electrophysiology
- Functional remodeling of intracardiac neurons in heart failure