Mechanobiology of Cardiac Fibroblasts

TY - CHAP

T1 - Mechanobiology of Cardiac Fibroblasts

AU - Galie, Peter A.

AU - Stegemann, Jan P.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

PY - 2018/1/1

Y1 - 2018/1/1

N2 - The healthy myocardium contains cardiomyocytes, mast cells, fibroblasts, and other vascular cell types. Cardiac fibroblasts constitute the largest cell population in the heart and therefore understanding how these cells function is essential for studying heart disease. Recent research has focused on how cardiac fibroblasts affect a broad range of cardiac pathologies: arrhythmias, dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac hypertrophy, and other systolic- and diastolic-related diseases. In order to understand how cardiac fibroblasts contribute to these various disease states, it is necessary to learn how these cells respond to changes in biochemical and mechanical stimuli. Both have important impact on cell function, and this chapter focuses primarily on the effect of the mechanical environment. In addition, it addresses relevant biochemical factors, since the mechanical and biochemical environments are intimately linked. The process by which cells transduce mechanical signals into a biological response has been termed mechanobiology. The mechanobiology of cardiac fibroblasts has been the subject of extensive research in recent years, the results of which have had direct implications for the treatment of heart disease. This chapter provides an overview of the mechanical forces present in the myocardium, the cardiac fibroblast phenotype, and presents key recent results in the area of cardiac fibroblast mechanobiology.

AB - The healthy myocardium contains cardiomyocytes, mast cells, fibroblasts, and other vascular cell types. Cardiac fibroblasts constitute the largest cell population in the heart and therefore understanding how these cells function is essential for studying heart disease. Recent research has focused on how cardiac fibroblasts affect a broad range of cardiac pathologies: arrhythmias, dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac hypertrophy, and other systolic- and diastolic-related diseases. In order to understand how cardiac fibroblasts contribute to these various disease states, it is necessary to learn how these cells respond to changes in biochemical and mechanical stimuli. Both have important impact on cell function, and this chapter focuses primarily on the effect of the mechanical environment. In addition, it addresses relevant biochemical factors, since the mechanical and biochemical environments are intimately linked. The process by which cells transduce mechanical signals into a biological response has been termed mechanobiology. The mechanobiology of cardiac fibroblasts has been the subject of extensive research in recent years, the results of which have had direct implications for the treatment of heart disease. This chapter provides an overview of the mechanical forces present in the myocardium, the cardiac fibroblast phenotype, and presents key recent results in the area of cardiac fibroblast mechanobiology.

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U2 - 10.1201/9780429444982-11

DO - 10.1201/9780429444982-11

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9781498779463

SP - 229

EP - 240

BT - Mechanobiology Handbook

PB - CRC Press

ER -