Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Functional Site-Directed Fluorometry in Native Cells to Study Skeletal Muscle Excitability
12:26

Functional Site-Directed Fluorometry in Native Cells to Study Skeletal Muscle Excitability

Published on: June 2, 2023

Mechanosensitive channels in striated muscle and the cardiovascular system: not quite a stretch anymore

Jonathan A Stiber1, Malini Seth, Paul B Rosenberg

  • 1Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology
|July 15, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Mechanosensitive channels convert mechanical forces into cell signals, impacting cardiovascular health and disease. This review explores their role in heart conditions and potential as therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Mechanosensitive channels are crucial for cellular responses to mechanical stimuli.
  • They play significant roles in cardiovascular functions like blood pressure regulation and cardiac arrhythmias.
  • Dysregulation of these channels contributes to adverse cardiac remodeling in hypertrophy and heart failure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the function and regulation of mechanosensitive channels in skeletal muscle and the cardiovascular system.
  • To elucidate the role of mechanosensitive channels, particularly Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis.
  • To identify potential therapeutic strategies targeting mechanosensitive channels for heart failure treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on mechanosensitive channel function, regulation, and disease involvement.
  • Discussion of gating mechanisms, including direct and indirect pathways.
  • Analysis of the influence of cytoskeleton and scaffolding proteins on channel activation.

Main Results:

  • Mechanosensitive channels are key transducers of mechanical forces into cellular signals.
  • Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels are implicated as critical mechanosensitive channels in cardiovascular pathophysiology.
  • Understanding channel regulation by cytoskeletal elements provides insights into disease mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • Mechanosensitive channels are vital in cardiovascular physiology and disease.
  • TRP channels represent promising therapeutic targets for managing heart failure and related adverse remodeling.
  • Further research into channel regulation may unlock novel treatment avenues.

More Related Videos

Ex Vivo Analysis of Mechanically Activated Ca2+ Transients in Urothelial Cells05:35

Ex Vivo Analysis of Mechanically Activated Ca2+ Transients in Urothelial Cells

Published on: September 28, 2022

Exploring Arterial Smooth Muscle Kv7 Potassium Channel Function using Patch Clamp Electrophysiology and Pressure Myography11:02

Exploring Arterial Smooth Muscle Kv7 Potassium Channel Function using Patch Clamp Electrophysiology and Pressure Myography

Published on: September 14, 2012

Related Concept Videos

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels01:12

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels

Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels01:12

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels

Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
Smooth Muscle Contraction01:25

Smooth Muscle Contraction

Smooth muscle contraction is a complex process vital for various bodily functions, from maintaining blood vessel tension to facilitating the movement of food through the digestive tract. Unlike striated muscles, smooth muscle contraction begins more slowly and lasts longer.
The onset of contraction is triggered by an increase in calcium ions within the sarcoplasm, similar to the process in striated muscle. However, smooth muscles have a relatively smaller reservoir of the sarcoplasmic...
Muscle Contraction01:10

Muscle Contraction

In skeletal muscles, acetylcholine is released by nerve terminals at the motor endplate—the point of synaptic communication between motor neurons and muscle fibers. The binding of acetylcholine to its receptors on the sarcolemma allows entry of sodium ions into the cell and triggers an action potential in the muscle cell. Thus, electrical signals from the brain are transmitted to the muscle. Subsequently, the enzyme acetylcholinesterase breaks down acetylcholine to prevent excessive muscle...
Muscle Contraction01:15

Muscle Contraction

Cross-bridge Cycle01:26

Cross-bridge Cycle

As muscle contracts, the overlap between the thin and thick filaments increases, decreasing the length of the sarcomere—the contractile unit of the muscle—using energy in the form of ATP. At the molecular level, this is a cyclic, multistep process that involves binding and hydrolysis of ATP, and movement of actin by myosin.