Substrate stiffness affects the functional maturation of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.

ABSTRACT: Cardiac cells mature in the first postnatal week, concurrent with altered extracellular mechanical properties. To investigate the effects of extracellular stiffness on cardiomyocyte maturation, we plated neonatal rat ventricular myocytes for 7 days on collagen-coated polyacrylamide gels with varying elastic moduli. Cells on 10 kPa substrates developed aligned sarcomeres, whereas cells on stiffer substrates had unaligned sarcomeres and stress fibers, which are not observed in vivo. We found that cells generated greater mechanical force on gels with stiffness similar to the native myocardium, 10 kPa, than on stiffer or softer substrates. Cardiomyocytes on 10 kPa gels also had the largest calcium transients, sarcoplasmic calcium stores, and sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticular calcium ATPase2a

SUBMITTER: Jacot JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2547444 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature