Independent regulation of Z-lines and M-lines during sarcomere assembly in cardiac myocytes revealed by the automatic image analysis software sarcApp.

ABSTRACT: Sarcomeres are the basic contractile units within cardiac myocytes, and the collective shortening of sarcomeres aligned along myofibrils generates the force driving the heartbeat. The alignment of the individual sarcomeres is important for proper force generation, and misaligned sarcomeres are associated with diseases including cardiomyopathies and COVID-19. The actin bundling protein, α-actinin-2, localizes to the "Z-Bodies" of sarcomere precursors and the "Z-Lines" of sarcomeres, and has been used previously to assess sarcomere assembly and maintenance. Previous measurements of α-actinin-2 organization have been largely accomplished manually, which is time-consuming and has hampered research progress. Here, we introduce sarcApp, an image analysis tool that quantifies several components o

SUBMITTER: Neininger-Castro AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9882215 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature