Biophysics of Excitable System Lab

The laboratory of biophysics of excitable systems was established at MIPT in the end of 2010 as one of the laboratories of the “mega-grant” program of the Russian Government (http://www.p220.ru/). The main focus of the laboratory is the investigation of excitable biological tissues, such as cardiac tissue. For that purpose, methods for optical mapping of biological samples and tissue engineering techniques are being developed in the laboratory.

The laboratory of biophysics of excitable systems was established at MIPT in the end of 2010 as one of the laboratories of the megagrant programme of the Russian Government (http://www.p220.ru/). The main focus of the laboratory is the investigation of excitable biological tissues, such as cardiac tissue. For that purpose, methods for optical mapping of biological samples and tissue engineering techniques are being developed in the laboratory.

The head of the laboratory — Prof. Konstantin Agladze — graduated from MIPT in 1978. His most significant works so far were devoted to the questions of autowave propagation in active media of various nature. After many years of work in the top scientific research centers abroad (in USA, Japan, France, Germany, Italy), professor Agladze returned to Russia to create here a leading biophysical laboratory.

Today, the group consists of highly motivated researchers aimed to the achievement of novel scientific results and discoveries. Undergraduate and postgraduate students from the various Faculties of MIPT are involved in the research work at the laboratory. Since the foundation of the lab, more than 12 bachelor’s and master’s works have been prepared in the laboratory. Some of the results of these students’ works were published in high-impact scientific journals.

The laboratory has a range of projects in collaboration with the local and foreign research centers (Ghent University, Belgium; Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Moscow; V.I.Shumakov Federal Research Center of Transplantation and Artificial Organs, Moscow; etc). Biannually the team of the laboratory holds a conference “Instabilities and Control of Excitable Networks (ICENet)” (http://icenet2014.net/). Our range of contacts is constantly increasing and we are open for collaboration in the field of biophysical research.

The research in our lab is divided into three main branches:

1. Experimental research of the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the formation of specific tachyarrhythmia sources - rotating excitation waves (known as «re-entry»). The cultured cardiac tissue is used as an experimental model for these studies. The desired architecture of cardiac tissue is achieved up by means of tissue engineering methods. Currently, the neonatal rat cells serve as a main material for cardiac patches fabrication. At the same time we are developing the techniques for reprogramming of the human iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells) into cardiac cells, suitable for tissue engineering. Research in this direction leads to a better understanding of how certain properties of heart tissue structure can affect normal propagation of excitation in cardiac tissue, leading to the onset lethal arrhythmias. Advances in this research area might also bring us to the development of a novel tissue engineering platform for cardiotoxicity and antiarrhythmic drug testing emerges.

2. Computational studies of the excitation propagation processes in cardiac tissue with a focus on the development of mathematical models for critical regimes simulation. Combination of experimental data with computer simulations allows us to identify ionic channels responsible for the failure of the normal propagation in a cardiac tissue with predefined architecture. In turn, it allows us to dramatically decrease the range of potentially effective antiarrhythmic drugs.

3. Development of the techniques for photo-control of cardiac tissue focusing on the synthesis of the chemicals agents with properties similar to AzoTAB (a compound with the properties of a photo-sensibilizing agent of excitable tissues discovered in K. Agladze’s laboratory in Japan) with the certain properties: 1) which cis-isomer is more stable than trans-isomer; 2) reduced cardiotoxicity (stilbene analogues); 3) increased selectivity to the specific ionic channels. Advances in this field in prospect may potentially allow for a development of a method of photo-ablation of ectopic activity or pathological pathways in a heart that would be less damaging than the currently used radio-ablation method.