Sarcomere, troponin, and myosin X-ray diffraction signals can be resolved in single cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT: Cardiac function relies on the autonomous molecular contraction mechanisms in the ventricular wall. Contraction is driven by ordered motor proteins acting in parallel to generate a macroscopic force. The averaged structure can be investigated by diffraction from model tissues such as trabecular and papillary cardiac muscle using collimated synchrotron beams, offering high resolution in reciprocal space. In the ventricular wall, however, the muscle tissue is compartmentalized into smaller branched cardiomyocytes, with a higher degree of disorder. We show that X-ray diffraction is now also capable of resolving the structural organization of actomyosin in single isolated cardiomyocytes of the ventricular wall. In addition to the hexagonal arrangement of thick and thin filaments, the diffracti

SUBMITTER: Bruns H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11427778 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature