Isabelle Deschenes

About

Isabelle Deschenes, PhD, is a Professor of Physiology and Cell Biology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, where she also serves as Chair of the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. Her research focuses on the molecular basis of cardiac arrhythmias, studying the fundamental molecules that underlie the electrical function of the heart, including ion channels and their accessory subunits. Her work investigates how regulation and dysregulation of inward and outward ion currents contribute to various clinically relevant cardiac arrhythmias, including inherited channelopathies and arrhythmias associated with acquired diseases such as heart failure. Dr. Deschenes utilizes electrophysiological, biochemical, molecular, and imaging techniques to explore the involvement of ion channels in arrhythmias. Her research includes elucidating mechanisms of incomplete penetrance in inherited cardiac channelopathies through the use of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells to identify modifier genes. She has also made fundamental contributions to understanding sodium channel structure, assembly, and trafficking. Additionally, her research investigates ion channel remodeling in heart failure, with a particular focus on the role of KChIP2 in regulating cardiac excitability through multiple mechanisms, including transcriptional repression of cardiac genes and microRNAs.

Research topics

• Biophysics
• Internal medicine
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Medicine
• Biology
• Cell biology
• Physical therapy

Selected publications

• Intercellular Sodium Regulates Repolarization in Cardiac Tissue with Sodium Channel Gain of Function

  Biophysical Journal · 2020 · 32 citations

  DOI

• Extracellular Perinexal Separation Is a Principal Determinant of Cardiac Conduction

  Circulation Research · 2023-09-08 · 21 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Cardiac conduction is understood to occur through gap junctions. Recent evidence supports ephaptic coupling as another mechanism of electrical communication in the heart. Conduction via gap junctions predicts a direct relationship between conduction velocity (CV) and bulk extracellular resistance. By contrast, ephaptic theory is premised on the existence of a biphasic relationship between CV and the volume of specialized extracellular clefts within intercalated discs such as the peri…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Biophysical characterization of chloride intracellular channel 6 (CLIC6)

  Journal of Biological Chemistry · 2023-10-12 · 18 citations

  articleOpen access

  Chloride intracellular channels (CLICs) are a family of proteins that exist in soluble and transmembrane forms. The newest discovered member of the family CLIC6 is implicated in breast, ovarian, lung gastric, and pancreatic cancers and is also known to interact with dopamine-(D(2)-like) receptors. The soluble structure of the channel has been resolved, but the exact physiological role of CLIC6, biophysical characterization, and the membrane structure remain unknown. Here, we aimed to characteriz…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Structural basis of human Na _v 1.5 gating mechanisms

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-05-14 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Voltage-gated Na v 1.5 channels are central to the generation and propagation of cardiac action potentials. Aberrations in their function are associated with a wide spectrum of cardiac diseases including arrhythmias and heart failure. Despite decades of progress in Na v 1.5 biology, the lack of structural insights into intracellular regions has hampered our understanding of its gating mechanisms. Here, we present two cryo-EM structures of human Na v 1.5 in open states, revealing sequential confo…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Transformative Potential of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Congenital Heart Disease Research and Treatment

  Children · 2025-05-23 · 7 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common congenital anomaly, remains a significant lifelong burden despite advancements in medical and surgical interventions. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a groundbreaking platform in CHD research, offering patient-specific models to investigate the genetic, epigenetic, and molecular mechanisms driving the disease. Utilizing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, cardiac organoids, and high-throughput screening, iPSCs enab…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R21GM079467

  NIH · $425k · 2011

• Biophysical Modulation of Cardiac Ion Channels by MicroRNA

  NIH · $4.5M · 2017–2027

• Sodium Channels and Cardiac Arrhythmias

  NIH · $4.0M · 2010–2024

Frequent coauthors

• Xiaoping Wan

  Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital

  62 shared

• Eckhard Ficker

  51 shared

• Kenneth R. Laurita

  MetroHealth

  47 shared

• Steven Poelzing

  Virginia Tech

  42 shared

• Drew Nassal

  The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

  38 shared

• Ji‐Dong Fu

  The Ohio State University

  35 shared

• Jérôme Clatot

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  33 shared

• Krekwit Shinlapawittayatorn

  Chiang Mai University

  30 shared

Similar researchers at Ohio State University

• Sandor Gyorkeh-74
• Vadim Fedorovh-53
• Sissy M. Jhiangh-45