Calcium-dependent regulation of physiological vs pathological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy

Cardiomyocyte hypertrophic growth contributes to the adaptative response of the heart to meet sustained increases in hemodynamic demand. While hypertrophic responses to physiological cues maintains or enhances cardiac function, when triggered by pathological cues, this response is maladaptive, associated with compromised heart function, although initially, this response maybe adaptive with preserved function. Since cues and activated pathways associated with both forms of hypertrophy overlap, the question arises as to the mechanism that determines these different outcomes. Here we evaluate the hypothesis that cardiomyocyte Ca²⁺ signalling - a regulator of pathological hypertrophy - also signals physiological hypertrophy. We discuss how different Ca²⁺ profiles, in distinct subcellular organelles/microdomains, and interacting with other signalling pathways, provide a mechanism for Ca²⁺ to be decoded to induce distinct hypertrophic phenotypes. We discuss how integration of computational with rich structural and functional cellular measurements can be used to decipher the role of Ca²⁺ in hypertrophic gene programming.