In postnatal muscle, skeletal muscle precursors (myoblasts) can be derived from satellite cells (reserve cells located on the surface of mature myofibers) or from cells lying beyond the myofiber, e.g., interstitial connective tissue or bone marrow. Both of these classes of cells may have stem cell properties. In addition, the heretical idea that post-mitotic myonuclei lying within mature myofib...

Myofibrils in vertebrate cardiac and skeletal muscles are characterized by groups of proteins arranged in contractile units or sarcomeres, which consist of four major components - thin filaments, thick filaments, titin and Z-bands. The thin actin/tropomyosin-containing filaments are embedded in the Z-bands and interdigitate with the myosin-containing thick filaments aligned in A-bands. Titin is...

During metabolic stress, phosphorylation and activation of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) becomes a major regulator of cellular energy metabolism in heart and skeletal muscle. Despite this, the upstream regulation of AMPK in both heart and muscle is poorly understood. Recent work has implicated the atypical protein kinase Czeta (PKCzeta) as a regulator of AMPK in endothelial cells via p...

The expression of cytoplasmic beta-actin and cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle alpha-actins during early avian cardiogenesis was analyzed by in situ hybridization with mRNA-specific single-stranded DNA probes. The cytoplasmic beta-actin gene was ubiquitously expressed in the early chicken embryo. In contrast, the alpha-actin genes were sequentially activated in avian cardiac tissue during th...

Ischemic heart disease is the main cause of death in western countries and its burden is increasing worldwide. It typically involves irreversible degeneration and loss of myocardial tissue leading to poor prognosis and fatal outcome. Autologous cells with the potential to regenerate damaged heart tissue would be an ideal source for cell therapeutic approaches. Here, we compared different method...

AIMS The heart contains c-kit(+) progenitors that maintain cardiac homeostasis. Cardiac c-kit(+) cells are multipotent and give rise to myocardial, endothelial and smooth muscle cells, both in vitro and in vivo. C-kit(+) cells have been thoroughly investigated for their stem cell activity, susceptibility to stress conditions and ageing, as well as for their ability to repair the infarcted heart...

Meta-vinculin, a vinculin-related protein, has been isolated from human uterus smooth muscle. Specific antibodies to meta-vinculin, which distinguish between meta-vinculin and vinculin, were prepared by absorption of anti-meta-vinculin serum on vinculin coupled to nitrocellulose. Meta-vinculin specific antibody demonstrates only smooth and cardiac muscle specificity and is able to cross-react w...

In our previous studies a twofold cardiomegaly associated with a proportional increase in cardiac DNA was found in rats subjected to a low-iron diet after weaning. To localize the newly synthesized DNA, control and anemic rats 24—34 days of age were given three intraperitoneal injections of Hthymidine (1 /Ac/g body weight; 22c/mM) at 2-hour intervals. The radioautographs were prepared from sect...

Heart failure is a major contributor to mortality in the United States. Many cardiomyocytes (CM) die following myocardial insult, and the post-natal mammalian heart has very limited regenerative capacity. Heart organ transplantation is a final therapeutic option to prevent patient death when heart failure is imminent. However, donor organ availability cannot completely meet current demands, and...