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Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy
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When Stiffness Matters: Mechanosensing in Heart Development and Disease
Roberto Gaetani1,2, Eric Adriano Zizzi3, Marco Agostino Deriu3
1Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|July 17, 2020
Summary
Heart development and failure involve tissue stiffening and mechanical cues. New integrated models combining mechanics and molecular biology offer novel strategies for personalized heart failure treatments using tissue engineering and stem cells.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Embryonic heart development involves cellular maturation and extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffening.
- Myocardial remodeling in heart failure is driven by mechanical cues, leading to fibrosis and cellular damage.
- Understanding the biomechanical dependence of cellular machinery is crucial for cardiac development and aging pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss the role of mechanosensing in heart development and pathology.
- To describe recent models of cell and tissue mechanics in the heart.
- To outline novel strategies for heart failure treatment using tissue engineering and iPSC technology.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on mechanosensing in cardiac development and disease.
- Description of multiscale modeling systems for cellular and tissue mechanics.
- Exploration of tissue engineering and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) applications.
Main Results:
- Mechanosensing plays a critical role in cardiac maturation and maladaptive remodeling.
- Advanced models allow for integrated mechano-molecular analysis of cardiac tissue.
- Personalized therapeutic strategies can be developed by targeting mechanical cues.
Conclusions:
- Integrated mechano-molecular models are essential for understanding heart development and disease.
- Tissue engineering and iPSC technologies offer promising avenues for personalized heart failure therapies.
- Targeting mechanical cues presents a novel approach to combat myocardial fibrosis and cellular damage.
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