This book presents a collection of expert reviews on different subcellular compartments of the cardiomyocyte, addressing fundamental questions such as how these compartments are assembled during development, how they are changed in and by disease and which signaling pathways have been implicated in these processes so far. As such, it offers the first overview of the cell biology of heart disease of its kind, addressing the needs of cell biology students specializing in vascular and cardiac biology, as well as those of cardiologists and researchers in the field of cell biology.
This book summarizes present knowledge of different mechanisms involved in the development of positive and negative consequences of cardiac adaptation. Particular attention is paid to the still underestimated adaptive cardiac responses during development, to adaptation to the frequently occurring pressure and volume overload as well as to cardiac changes, induced by enduring exercise and chronic hypoxia. Cardiac Adaptations will be of great value to cardiovascular investigators, who will find this book highly useful in their cardiovascular studies for finding solutions in diverse pathological conditions; it will also appeal to students, fellows, scientists, and clinicians interested in cardiovascular abnormalities.
This book presents the latest findings in the field of cardiac mechanobiology in health and disease. Cardiac mechanobiology provides knowledge of all aspects of mechanobiology of the heart. Cardiomyogenesis is discussed as well as the mechanobiology of cardiac remodeling and regeneration. The molecular mechanisms of mechanoperception and mechanotransduction in cardiomyocytes are explained, as well as stretch induced differentiation of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. This volume of the series Cardiac and Vascular Biology complements the volume Vascular Mechanobiology in Physiology and Disease (volume 8) published in this series. The book is aimed at clinicians as well as researchers in cardiovascular biology, bioengineering and biophysics, and also represents an educational resource for young researchers and students in these fields.
This highly illustrated textbook has been prepared by the Working Group on Development, Anatomy and Pathology of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Development is the authority on cardiovascular development from a perspective of both basic scientists and clinicians. The embryonic origin of congenital heart diseases and their pathology has been analysed in depth. Modern concepts pivotal to the understanding of cardiovascular morphogenesis, including those still subject to controversy, have been highlighted and the content covers the ESC Core Curriculum. The textbook will appeal to researchers and clinicians from a wide spectrum of disciplines including molecular and developmental biologists working on mechanisms of heart development in a range of model organisms as well as pathologists, morphologists, geneticists, and cardiologists.
This dissertation investigated the role of biomechanics in two physiological systems, the heart and bone. Biomechanics motivates the study and characterization of how cells sense external forces and convert these signals into an intracellular response in a process called mechanotransduction. Three independent studies were designed with the goal of applying mechanical forces that mimic the in vivo microenvironment of either the heart or bone. The aim of these studies was to better under the mechanisms driving cellular processes, including cardiac myocyte differentiation and osteoblast mechanotransduction. The first study presents the design and implementation of tissue engineering approach to stem cell-based myocardial therapy. Three dimensional engineered heart tissue was formed by suspending human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes isolated from beating embryoid bodies in a soluble extracellular matrix, and an in vitro mechanical conditioning regimen was applied at physiological levels of myocardial strain. The viability of the engineered stem cell tissue was monitored in vitro and in vivo for up to 8 weeks using molecular imaging of reporter gene activity. The application of cyclic mechanical strain in vitro resulted in cellular alignment along the axis of strain and an elongated cellular morphology with a high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, typical of neonatal cardiac myocytes, as well as increased expression of cardiac troponin I, in comparison to static controls. Analysis of the in vitro and in vivo bioluminescence imaging data demonstrated the viability of engineered heart tissue constructs; however, histology results showed immature cells within the implanted constructs, suggesting an inability of the stem cell-derived cardiac precursors to maintain a cardiac phenotype in vivo, as well the inherent inefficiency of the beating embryoid body method to identify and isolate cardiac myocyte precursors. The functional shortcomings exhibited by the embryoid body-based differentiation of embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes in the first study motivated further refinement of cardiac myocyte differentiation techniques. Therefore, the second study executed the design and fabrication of a microelectromechanical platform to study the role of electrical and mechanical stimulation in cardiac myocyte differentiation. The fabrication process used a combination of soft lithography and traditional microfabrication techniques to pattern thin film metal electrodes on an elastomeric polymer membrane. The completed device enabled coupled characterization and imaging of cardiac myocytes precursors, and the ability to assess the range of mechanical forces, up to 10% equibiaxial strain, that may induce or maintain a cardiac fate. Electrical continuity was demonstrated under static conditions but not under strain, and improvements in metal deposition and adhesion could address this performance defect. Beating clusters containing human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes were plated on fabricated membranes, uncoated and coated with Matrigel, and cell viability was monitored using contrast microscopy. The third study transitioned to a different mechanical model of physiological forces, which was the application of oscillatory fluid flow-mediated fluid shear stress generated by the loading and unloading of bone. Specifically, the role of focal adhesion kinase, a protein tyrosine kinase recruited at focal adhesions and a major mediator of integrin signaling pathways, was studied in osteoblast mechanotransduction. The biochemical and transcriptional response of focal adhesion kinase mutant osteoblasts to physiological levels of shear stress induced by oscillatory fluid flow was impaired as measured by prostaglandin E2 release and cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression. Restoration of focal adhesion kinase expression with site-specific mutations at two tyrosine phosphorylation sites demonstrated that phosphorylation events play a role in prostaglandin release following oscillatory fluid flow. In conclusion, the role of mechanical forces, including the effect of cyclic mechanical strain in human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac myocyte tissue engineering and the fluid shear stress-induced response of focal adhesion kinase mutant osteoblasts, was successfully demonstrated and quantified in this dissertation.
This title reviews current knowledge of the mechanisms contributing to heart failure. Editor Richard Walsh and an internationally renowned team of contributors discuss key advances in molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, focusing on advances that have a direct bearing on current clinical studies. It highlights developments across a broad range of disciplines, with in-depth coverage of each topic providing background and perspective on current literature. By setting new advances in a broader context, this text allows readers to compare different ideas and evaluate their importance in their own areas of research or clinical practice.
Congenital Heart Defects, or CHDs, are the most frequently occurring birth defect. In the US alone, over 25,000 babies are born each year with some form of CHD. In the last 20 years, medical advances and new surgical procedures have dramatically decreased the mortality rate of these abnormalities and led to a better understanding and treatment of CHDs in adults. This definitive work on the subject covers all aspects of CHD, under the editorship of a leading geneticist, cardiologist, and public health physician, and features contributions from 60 major authorities in the field. Coverage includes a broad range of topics on the development, epidemiology, genetics, diagnosis, management, prevention, and public health issues of CHDs. This book will be of interest to geneticists, epidemiologists, cardiologists, pediatricians, graduate students, researchers, and others interested in the treatment of individuals with CHDs.
