Cardiac myocyte cell membrane

The **cardiac myocyte cell membrane** is the lipid bilayer that encloses the cytoplasm of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes). In procedures like **pulsed-field ablation (PFA)**, irreversible electroporation delivers high-intensity electric pulses to the membrane, causing permanent nanopores. This disrupts membrane integrity, leading to cell death in targeted tissues, which is used therapeutically to ablate arrhythmogenic cardiac tissue without relying on heat injury[1][2][3][4]. The process is influenced by factors such as cell orientation, field strength, and pulse duration; for example, the susceptibility of the membrane varies with how the cell aligns with the applied electric field and the length of electric pulses[1][3]. This membrane is a **physical and functional structure**, not a classical druggable molecular target such as a receptor or enzyme. **Key points:** - This is not a target in the strict biochemical sense (not a protein, receptor, or enzyme) but a cell structure rendered vulnerable via a physical process. - There are no conventional interacting drugs; the mechanism is physical ablation, not pharmacological modulation. - Safety concerns include risk to neighboring tissues and the need for highly precise delivery to minimize adverse effects[4]. - The term as presented is not a canonical molecular target and should be flagged as incorrectly formatted for standard molecular target listings.

Other names

Cardiomyocyte membraneCardiac cell membrane

Irreversible electroporation (pore formation and loss of membrane integrity leading to cell death)