Cardiomyocytes structure, function and associated pathologies

The heart is the first formed organ in the developing fetus. During fetal and postnatal development cardiomyocytes become terminally differentiated muscular cells that are connected end to end by gap junctions, allowing concerted contractile activity. The contraction-relaxation cycle of cardiomyocytes is orchestrated by cyclic increases and decreases in intracellular Ca2+ initiated by depolarization of the sarcolemma and sustained by Ca2+ release and re-uptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum. When stressed, cardiomyocytes undergo hypertrophic growth and apoptotic responses in vivo as well as in cell culture models. Such changes predispose to heart failure in the longer term.Cell facts
- Cardiomyocytes are the cells responsible for generating contractile force in the intact heart.
- Specialized cardiomyocytes form the cardiac conduction system, responsible for control of rhythmic beating of the heart.
- Cardiomyocytes undergo enlargement (hypertrophy) in response to chronic demand for increased contractile force, but an inability to meet these needs leads to insufficient cardiac output for the demands of the whole organism (heart failure), one of the most common causes of death in the Western world.