Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Simultaneous Isolation and Culture of Atrial Myocytes, Ventricular Myocytes, and Non-Myocytes from an Adult Mouse Heart
11:53

Simultaneous Isolation and Culture of Atrial Myocytes, Ventricular Myocytes, and Non-Myocytes from an Adult Mouse Heart

Published on: June 14, 2020

8.2K

Highly variable contractile performance correlates with myocyte content in trabeculae from failing human hearts

Michelle L Munro1,2, Xin Shen1,3, Marie Ward1

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Scientific Reports
|February 15, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Structural changes in heart failure (HF) impact contractile function. This study links cardiomyocyte organization and microtubule changes to force development in human heart trabeculae, revealing significant structural variability.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Heart failure (HF) involves impaired cardiac contractility, altered excitation-contraction (EC) coupling, and cardiomyocyte disorganization.
  • Structural changes in HF include tissue fibrosis and alterations within cardiomyocytes, affecting key EC coupling components like the ryanodine receptor (RyR) and junctophilin-2 (JPH2), as well as transverse tubular system architecture.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To directly correlate structural alterations with force development in ventricular trabeculae from human hearts with end-stage heart failure.
  • To investigate the influence of cardiomyocyte organization and cellular structures on mechanical function in failing human hearts.

Main Methods:

  • Ventricular trabeculae were excised from explanted human hearts with end-stage heart failure.
  • Trabeculae underwent immediate force measurements followed by fixation, sectioning, and immuno-staining for structural analysis.
  • Correlations were established between functional parameters (peak stress, time-to-peak stress) and structural metrics (myocyte cross-sectional area, JPH2 localization).

Main Results:

  • Peak stress in trabeculae was highly variable and strongly correlated with myocyte cross-sectional area (MCSA), not total trabecula area.
  • Cardiomyocytes exhibited microtubule densification linked via JPH2 to time-to-peak stress.
  • Fractional MCSA variability in trabeculae was significantly higher than in adjacent free wall samples.

Conclusions:

  • Specific structural parameters, including MCSA and microtubule organization, are implicated in the functional impairment observed in human heart failure.
  • The significant structural variability within ventricular trabeculae must be considered when interpreting functional data in heart failure research.

More Related Videos

Analysis of Cardiac Contractile Dysfunction and Ca2+ Transients in Rodent Myocytes07:32

Analysis of Cardiac Contractile Dysfunction and Ca2+ Transients in Rodent Myocytes

Published on: May 25, 2022

1.9K
Measurement of Heart Contractility in Isolated Adult Human Primary Cardiomyocytes09:17

Measurement of Heart Contractility in Isolated Adult Human Primary Cardiomyocytes

Published on: August 9, 2022

2.6K

Related Concept Videos

Correlation and Causation01:27

Correlation and Causation

Statistical tests can calculate whether there is a relationship, or correlation, between independent and dependent variables. An indirect relationship of the variables signifies a correlation, while a direct relationship shows causation. If it is determined that no connection exists between the variables, then the correlation is a coincidence.
Correlation versus Causation
If the dependent variable increases or decreases when the independent variable increases, there is a positive or negative...
43.0K
Correlations02:20

Correlations

Correlation means that there is a relationship between two or more variables (such as ice cream consumption and crime), but this relationship does not necessarily imply cause and effect. When two variables are correlated, it simply means that as one variable changes, so does the other. We can measure correlation by calculating a statistic known as a correlation coefficient. A correlation coefficient is a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between...
36.6K
Drug Product Performance: In Vitro–In Vivo Correlation01:20

Drug Product Performance: In Vitro–In Vivo Correlation

In pharmaceutical development, it's crucial to establish a predictive in vitro–in vivo correlation (IVIVC) for two or more formulations to gain a comprehensive understanding of release properties. IVIVC reduces the need for costly in vivo studies and facilitates the establishment of meaningful dissolution specifications with significant cost savings and decreased regulatory burden. Furthermore, a meaningful IVIVC should predict Cmax and AUC within 20%, aligning with FDA guidance while...
288
The Contractile Ring02:15

The Contractile Ring

Contractile rings are composed of microfilaments and are responsible for separating the daughter cells during cytokinesis. Contractile ring assembly proceeds along with other cell cycle events; however, very few mechanistic details are known about the timing and coordination of the contractile rings with the cell cycle.
A small GTPase, RhoA, controls the function and assembly of the contractile ring. RhoA belongs to the Ras superfamily of proteins. The activation of formins by RhoA promotes...
7.3K
Stereotype Content Model02:16

Stereotype Content Model

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
15.5K
Correlation01:09

Correlation

In statistics, two variables are said to be correlated if the values of one variable are associated with the other variable. Depending on the relationship between two variables, correlation can be of three types– positive correlation, negative correlation, and zero correlation.
Two variables, for example, a and b, are said to be positively correlated if both variables move in the same direction. In other words, a positive correlation exists between two variables, a and b, if:
15.2K