The neonatal rat cardiomyocyte model enables heart researchers to study and understand the morphological, biochemical and electrophysiological characteristics of the heart. This model offers a broad spectrum of experiments, such as studies of contraction, ischaemia, hypoxia and the toxicity of various compounds. This review examines the methodology for the isolation and cultivation of primary n...

In the developing heart, cardiomyocytes undergo terminal differentiation during a critical window around birth. Hypoxia is a major stress to preterm infants, yet its effect on the development and maturation of the heart remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis in a rat model that newborn anoxia accelerates cardiomyocyte terminal differentiation and results in reduced cardiomyocyte endowment in...

Li S, Jiao X, Tao L, Liu H, Cao Y, Lopez BL, Christopher TA, Ma XL. Tumor necrosis factorin mechanic trauma plasma mediates cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 293: H1847–H1852, 2007. First published July 6, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00578.2007.—Mechanical traumatic injury causes cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction. However, the signaling mechanisms leading to ...

Cardiomyocyte organization is a critical determinant of coordinated cardiac contractile function. Because of the acute opening of the pulmonary circulation, the relative workload of the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) changes substantially immediately after birth. We hypothesized that three-dimensional cardiomyocyte architecture might be required to adapt rapidly to accommodate pro...

c-kit, the transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor for stem cell factor, is required for melanocyte and mast cell development, hematopoiesis, and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells. We show here that in the heart, c-kit is expressed not only by cardiac stem cells but also by cardiomyocytes, commencing immediately after birth and terminating a few days later, coincident with the onset o...

AIM to speed up transdifferentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells into cardiomyocyte in vitro by inducing dedifferentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell, before induction by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine into cardiomyocyte. METHODS two-three months old 2.5 kg weight adult male New Zealanad Rabbits were anesthezied with ether, thigh bones were excised, and bone marrow cells were ...

Growth of the fetal heart involves cardiomyocyte enlargement, division, and maturation. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is implicated in many aspects of growth and is likely to be important in developmental heart growth. IGF-1 stimulates the IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R) and downstream signaling pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphoinositol-3 kinase (PI3K). W...

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in research aimed at regenerating the mammalian heart by promoting endogenous cardiomyocyte proliferation. Despite many encouraging successes, it remains unclear if we are any closer to achieving levels of mammalian cardiomyocyte proliferation for regeneration as seen during zebrafish regeneration. Furthermore, current cardiac regenerative app...

Background—Embryonic stem cell (ESC)–derived cardiomyocytes are anticipated to serve as a useful source for future cell-based cardiovascular disease therapies. Research emphasis is currently focused on determining methods to direct the differentiation of ESCs to a large population of cardiomyocytes with high purity. To this aim, understanding the molecular mechanisms that control ESC-to-cardiom...

Cardiac hypertrophy is characterized by thickening myocardium and decreasing in heart chamber volume in response to mechanical or pathological stress, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be defined. This study investigated altered miRNA expression and autophagic activity in pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. A rat model of myocardial hypertrophy was used and confirmed by heart m...