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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Macerated Tissue to Visualize the Extracellular Matrix
Published on: June 14, 2016
A look between the cardiomyocytes: the extracellular matrix in heart failure
Edward C Miner1, Wayne L Miller
1Department of Internal MedicineMayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn 55905, USA.
Abstract:
The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the heart dynamically interacts with various cellular components of the myocardium, including the myocytes and connective tissue cells. With the development and progression of heart failure, left ventricular (LV) myocardial remodeling occurs. The progression of LV remodeling is accompanied by alterations in the structure and function of the ECM that occur after injury resulting from neurohormonal activation, changes in LV loading conditions, and alterations in myocardial perfusion and metabolism and is secondary to a host of nonmyocyte signaling pathways that affect repair and remodeling of the myocardium as a whole. This article attempts to review some of these processes and their interactions and to provide a focus to the often overlooked contribution of the ECM to the development and progression of heart failure and thereby its potential role as a target for therapy for heart failure.
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