DZHK (Germanb Centre for Cardiovascular Research) 4 articles published in JoVE Medicine Location, Dissection, and Analysis of the Murine Stellate Ganglion Katharina Scherschel1,2,3, Hanna Bräuninger2,4, Klara Glufke2, Christiane Jungen2,4,5, Nikolaj Klöcker3, Christian Meyer1,2,3 1Division of Cardiology, EVK Düsseldorf, cNEP, cardiac Neuro- and Electrophysiology Research Consortium, 2DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), 3Institute of Neural and Sensory Physiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 4Clinic for Cardiology, University Heart & Vascular Centre, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, 5Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center Pathophysiological changes in the cardiac autonomic nervous system, especially in its sympathetic branch, contribute to the onset and maintenance of ventricular arrhythmias. In the present protocol, we show how to characterize murine stellate ganglia to improve the understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular processes. Biology Isolation of High Quality Murine Atrial and Ventricular Myocytes for Simultaneous Measurements of Ca2+ Transients and L-Type Calcium Current Philipp Tomsits*1,2,3, Dominik Schüttler*1,2,3, Stefan Kääb1,2, Sebastian Clauss*1,2,3, Niels Voigt*4,5,6 1Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Munich, Campus Großhadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (LMU), 2Partner Site Munich, Munich Heart Alliance (MHA), DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), 3Walter Brendel Center of Experimental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (LMU), 4Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 5Partner Site Göttingen, DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), 6Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen Mouse models allow studying key mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis. For this purpose, high quality cardiomyocytes are necessary to perform patch-clamp measurements. Here, a method to isolate murine atrial and ventricular myocytes via retrograde enzyme-based Langendorff perfusion, which allows simultaneous measurements of calcium-transients and L-type calcium current, is described. Developmental Biology Magnetic Adjustment of Afterload in Engineered Heart Tissues Benjamin Becker*1,2, Marita L. Rodriguez*1,2, Tessa R. Werner1,2, Justus Stenzig1,2, Thomas Eschenhagen1,2, Marc N. Hirt1,2 1Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 2DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) This protocol provides detailed methods describing the fabrication and implementation of a magnetics-based afterload tuning platform for engineered heart tissues. Immunology and Infection An Advanced Murine Model for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Association with Type 2 Diabetes Julia Sbierski-Kind1,2,3,4, Katharina Schmidt-Bleek3,6, Mathias Streitz3,5, Jonas Kath3,5, Joachim Spranger*1,2,4, Hans-Dieter Volk*2,3,5 1Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), 3Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 4DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), 5Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 6Julius Wolff Institute (JWI) and Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin A simple and reliable diet-induced rodent animal model for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is described, achieved through non-SPF housing of the animals and administration of a specific high-fat diet. We describe identification of hepatic and adipose immune cell subsets to recapitulate human immunological conditions by exposing mice to environmental germs.
