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In Vitro Assessment of Cardiac Function Using Skinned Cardiomyocytes
Published on: June 22, 2020
Isolated hearts treated with skeletal muscle homogenates exhibit altered function
Alex P Di Battista1, Marius Locke
1Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2W6, Canada.
Cell Stress & Chaperones
|March 26, 2013
Summary
Skeletal muscle damage releases molecules that can affect heart function. Slow-twitch and heat-stressed muscle homogenates impaired cardiac pressure, suggesting fiber type influences heart health after injury.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Immunology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Skeletal muscle damage releases intracellular molecules, known as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs).
- DAMPs can initiate immune and inflammatory responses by interacting with pattern recognition receptors.
- The impact of skeletal muscle DAMPs on cardiac function remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether DAMPs from different skeletal muscle types and conditions alter cardiac function.
- To determine if slow-twitch vs. fast-twitch muscle homogenates differentially affect heart performance.
- To assess the role of heat stress in skeletal muscle DAMPs' effect on the heart.
Main Methods:
- Isolated rat hearts were perfused using the Langendorff technique for 75 minutes.
- Perfusion buffers contained homogenates from soleus (slow), white gastrocnemius (WG, fast), or heat-stressed white gastrocnemius (HSWG) skeletal muscles.
- Cardiac function was assessed by measuring left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and ±dP/dt.
Main Results:
- Homogenates from white gastrocnemius (fast-twitch) muscles did not alter cardiac function.
- Soleus (slow-twitch) muscle homogenates significantly decreased LVDP and +dP/dt from 30 minutes onwards.
- Heat-stressed white gastrocnemius (HSWG) homogenates reduced LVDP from 45 minutes to the end of perfusion.
Conclusions:
- Molecules released from slow-twitch and heat-stressed skeletal muscles can negatively impact cardiac function.
- Skeletal muscle fiber type and heat shock protein content may influence cardiac responses to muscle damage.
- These findings highlight a potential link between skeletal muscle injury and cardiac dysfunction.
