⇒ Mechanical analysis of cardiac myocyte contraction
Cardiac myocytes experience mechanical stress during each heartbeat. Excessive mechanical stresses under pathological conditions cause functional and structural remodeling that lead to heart diseases, yet the precise mechanisms are still incompletely understood. To study the cellular and molecular level mechanotransduction mechanisms, we developed an innovative ‘cell-in-gel’ experimental system to exert 3-D stresses on a single myocyte during active contraction. We conducted mechanical analysis to provide analytic solutions that readily lend themselves to parametric studies. The resulting 3-D mapping of the strain and stress states serve to analyze and interpret ongoing cell-in-gel experiments. The mathematical model provides an essential tool to decipher and quantify mechanotransduction mechanisms in cardiac myocytes.
Cardiac myocytes experience mechanical stress during each heartbeat. Excessive mechanical stresses under pathological conditions cause functional and structural remodeling that lead to heart diseases, yet the precise mechanisms are still incompletely understood. To study the cellular and molecular level mechanotransduction mechanisms, we developed an innovative ‘cell-in-gel’ experimental system to exert 3-D stresses on a single myocyte during active contraction. We conducted mechanical analysis to provide analytic solutions that readily lend themselves to parametric studies. The resulting 3-D mapping of the strain and stress states serve to analyze and interpret ongoing cell-in-gel experiments. The mathematical model provides an essential tool to decipher and quantify mechanotransduction mechanisms in cardiac myocytes.
Publications
- Shaw J*, Izu LT, Chen-Izu Y. Mechanical Analysis of Single Myocyte Contraction in a 3-D Elastic Matrix. PLoS ONE. (2013) 8(10) e75492. PMID: 24098388 PMC3789722