Arrhythmia phenotype in mouse models of human long QT

Enhanced dispersion of repolarization (DR) was proposed as a unifying mechanism, central to arrhythmia genesis in the long QT (LQT) syndrome. In mammalian hearts, K+ channels are heterogeneously expressed across the ventricles resulting in ‘intrinsic’ DR that may worsen in long QT. DR was shown to be central to the arrhythmia phenotype of transgenic mice with LQT caused by loss of function of the dominant mouse K+ currents. Here, we investigated the arrhythmia phenotype of mice with targeted deletions of KCNE1 and KCNH2 genes which encode for minK/IsK and Merg1 (mouse homolog of human ERG) proteins resulting in loss of function of IKs and IKr, respectively. Both currents are important human K+ currents associated with LQT5 and LQT2. Loss of minK, a protein subunit that interacts with KvLQT1, results in a marked reduction of IKs giving rise to the Jervell and Lange–Nielsen syndrome and the reduced KCNH2 gene reduces MERG and IKr.