ArticleCell2017
Macrophages Facilitate Electrical Conduction in the Heart.
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Article in Cell, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 624 papers.
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624citing papers in PubMed
38.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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Who cites it
624 citing papers in PubMed, 951 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Tissue-Resident Macrophages: Linking Physiology and Inflammation in Infection.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2026Review
- Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Cytokines as Drivers of Cardiac Remodeling in COPD Patients.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Tissue mitochondrial activity dictates the macrophage pool size.Science immunology · 2026Article
- Type I IFN signaling shapes subset-specific monocyte fates in the injured myocardium.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Dynamic changes in cardiac autonomic function persist in the postacute phase after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hamster model of COVID-19.Heart rhythm O2 · 2026Article
- Tissue-Resident Macrophage in Inflammation and Cancer.MedComm · 2026Review
- Fate-mapping infiltrating monocytes following experimental myocardial infarction reveals differentiation trajectories in the infarcted heart.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Optogenetic Pacemaker Cells for Biological Cardiac Rhythm Management in Sick Sinus Syndrome.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- The M1/M2 Test System for Determining Macrophage Phenotypes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Cardiac immunity and heart repair: Mechanism, challenge, and future direction.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- Good cop, bad cop? Rethinking the roles of cardiac macrophages in injury.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Selective expansion of cardiac macrophage subtypes distinguishes their functional roles in disease and homeostasis.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Neurovascular interactions in the ageing heart.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026Review
- The Immune System as a Proarrhythmic Mediator: A Novel Paradigm for the Development of New Antiarrhythmic Therapy.The Canadian journal of cardiology · 2026Review
- Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiac Cell Crosstalk: from Intercellular Communication to Clinical Translation.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2026Review
- Ventricular arrhythmogenesis in pulmonary hypertension: From right ventricular remodeling to clinical implications.Physiological reports · 2026Review
- Review
- A novel multicellular model of the adult mouse sinoatrial node retains spontaneous electrical activity and enables live investigation of the S100B-associated cell population.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
564 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
34 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.
Maarten HulsmansCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Sebastian ClaussCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Munich, Campus Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany; DZHK German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Munich, Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.
Ling XiaoCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Aaron D AguirreCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Kevin R KingCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Alan HanleyCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Cardiovascular Research Center, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
William J HuckerCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Eike M WülfersInstitute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg, Bad Krozingen, 79110 Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Albert-Ludwigs University, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
Gunnar SeemannInstitute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg, Bad Krozingen, 79110 Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Albert-Ludwigs University, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
Gabriel CourtiesCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Yoshiko IwamotoCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Yuan SunCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Andrej J SavolDepartment of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Hendrik B SagerCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Kory J LavineCenter for Cardiovascular Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Gregory A FishbeinDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Diane E CapenCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Nicolas Da SilvaCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Lucile MiquerolAix Marseille University, CNRS, IBDM, 13288 Marseille, France.
Hiroko WakimotoDivision of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Christine E SeidmanDivision of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
Jonathan G SeidmanDivision of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Ruslan I SadreyevDepartment of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Kamila NaxerovaDivision of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Richard N MitchellDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Dennis BrownCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Peter LibbyDivision of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Ralph WeisslederCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Filip K SwirskiCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Peter KohlInstitute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg, Bad Krozingen, 79110 Freiburg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Albert-Ludwigs University, 79110 Freiburg, Germany; Cardiac Biophysics and Systems Biology, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW36NP, UK.
Claudio VinegoniCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
David J MilanCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Program in Population and Medical Genetics, The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Patrick T EllinorCardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Program in Population and Medical Genetics, The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Matthias NahrendorfCenter for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: mnahrendorf@mgh.harvard.edu.
Harvard University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USUniversity of Freiburg · DEBroad Institute · USCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRWashington University in St. Louis · US
Funding
Pilot & Feasibility ProgramP30DK043351 · NIDDK · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI RAYMOND T CHUNG · 1991 to 2026
$35.3MTransgenic CoreP30DK057521 · NIDDK · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI FLOREZ, JOSE CARLOS · 2000 to 2019
$31.4MTranslational imaging and nanomedicine in inflammatory atherosclerosisP01HL131478 · NHLBI · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · PI Zahi A. Fayad · 2017 to 2026
$24.3MIDENTIFICATION OF COMMON GENETIC VARIANTS FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND PR INTERVALR01HL092577 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BENJAMIN, EMELIA J., ELLINOR, PATRICK THOMAS · 2009 to 2025
$20.6MMacrophages in homeostasis and cardiovascular diseaseR35HL135752 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI SWIRSKI, FILIP K · 2017 to 2023
$5.4MRole of epididymal macrophages and dendritic cells in male reproductive functionR01HD069623 · NICHD · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BRETON, SYLVIE · 2011 to 2020
$3.6MLifestyle effects on hematopoiesis and atherosclerosisR01HL128264 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI NAHRENDORF, MATTHIAS, SWIRSKI, FILIP K · 2015 to 2018
$3.3MDynamic interactions between ischemic stroke, immunity and the bone marrowR01NS084863 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI MOSKOWITZ, MICHAEL A., NAHRENDORF, MATTHIAS · 2014 to 2018
$3.2MPET/MRI of cardiac repairR01HL096576 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI NAHRENDORF, MATTHIAS · 2009 to 2017
$2.8MQuantitative nanoparticle imaging of macrophagesR01HL131495 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI NAHRENDORF, MATTHIAS, WEISSLEDER, MD, PHD, RALPH · 2017 to 2020
$2.7MInterfering with the macrophage life cycle of atherosclerosisR01HL125428 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI ANDERSON, DANIEL G, NAHRENDORF, MATTHIAS · 2017 to 2020
$1.9MMACROPHAGE HETEROGENEITY IN HEART FAILURE PROGRESSION AND CARDIAC RECOVERYR01HL138466 · NHLBI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI LAVINE, KORY J. · 2017 to 2021
$1.9MBritish Heart Foundation FS/12/17/29532NHLBI NIH HHS K24 HL105780NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL092577NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL096576NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL114477NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL117829NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL125428NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL128264NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL131495NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK043351NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK057521NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS084863
Abstract
Organ-specific functions of tissue-resident macrophages in the steady-state heart are unknown. Here, we show that cardiac macrophages facilitate electrical conduction through the distal atrioventricular node, where conducting cells densely intersperse with elongated macrophages expressing connexin 43. When coupled to spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes via connexin-43-containing gap junctions, cardiac macrophages have a negative resting membrane potential and depolarize in synchrony with cardiomyocytes. Conversely, macrophages render the resting membrane potential of cardiomyocytes more positive and, according to computational modeling, accelerate their repolarization. Photostimulation of channelrhodopsin-2-expressing macrophages improves atrioventricular conduction, whereas conditional deletion of connexin 43 in macrophages and congenital lack of macrophages delay atrioventricular conduction. In the Cd11b
Indexed as
Heart Conduction SystemAnimalsConnexin 43FemaleHeart AtriaHumansMacrophagesMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMiddle AgedMyocytes, CardiacConnexin 43atrioventricular nodecomputational modelingconnexin 43electrical conductiongap junctionsheartmacrophagesoptogeneticssingle-cell RNA-sequencingtissue clearing
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.