Biology of the cardiac myocyte in heart disease

Abstract

Cardiac hypertrophy is a major risk factor for heart failure, and it has been shown that this increase in size occurs at the level of the cardiac myocyte. Cardiac myocyte model systems have been developed to study this process. Here we focus on cell culture tools, including primary cells, immortalized cell lines, human stem cells, and their morphological and molecular responses to pathological stimuli. For each cell type, we discuss commonly used methods for inducing hypertrophy, markers of pathological hypertrophy, advantages for each model, and disadvantages to using a particular cell type over other in vitro model systems. Where applicable, we discuss how each system is used to model human disease and how these models may be applicable to current drug therapeutic strategies. Finally, we discuss the increasing use of biomaterials to mimic healthy and diseased hearts and how these matrices can contribute to in vitro model systems of cardiac cell biology.