Positive Lusitropy and Inotropy
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Molecular Medicine of the Heart Ch. Depre Dept. Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine UMDNJ Medical School [email protected] MOLECULAR MEDICINE OF THE HEART 1. General concepts 2. Physiology of contraction and relaxation 3. Electrophysiology 4. Calcium and contraction 5. Metabolism 6. Signal transduction and gene expression 7. Partial test 8. Coronary physiology 9. Atherosclerosis 10. Cardiac hypertrophy and the athlete’s heart 11. Cardiac ischemia, cell death and survival 12. Heart failure 13. Review 14. Final test Molecular Medicine of the Heart Class 1. General concepts Overview of class 1: General concepts 1. Anatomy of the heart 2. Pump function of the heart 3. Systemic vasculature 4. Coronary arteries 5. The sarcomere 6. Conduction system 7. Questions 1. Anatomy of the heart Two sides - Three arteries - Four chambers • The heart is made of two sides, a right side and a left side • Right side and left side do not communicate directly, except abnormally in some forms of congenital heart disease • Each side is made of an atrium and a ventricle separated by atrio-ventricular valves, named “tricuspid” on the right side and “mitral” on the left side • Each atrium receives blood from veins, the venae cavae on the right side and the pulmonary veins on the left side, and ejects this blood into the corresponding ventricle • Each ventricle ejects blood in an artery, the pulmonary artery on the right side and the aorta on the left side. Reverse flow from the artery is prevented by a valve between the ventricle and the artery • The first branches of the aorta are the coronary arteries, which provide the heart with blood supply Structure of the heart • Myocardium. Cardiac muscle made of cardiac myocytes, major part of the heart • Endocardium. Endothelial layer separating the myocardium from the blood • Pericardium. Protective sheet surrounding the myocardium • Coronary arteries. Arteries from the aorta supplying blood to the myocardium • Capillaries. Microvessels between the cardiac myocytes • Subendocardium Deep myocardial layers, adjacent to the endocardium • Subepicardium Superficial myocardial layers, adjacent to the pericardium Pathophysiological importance of the structures • Myocardium. Cardiomyopathy. Describes any form of dysfunctional myocardium (ischemic, hypertensive, congenital, valvular…). Any impairment in myocardial contraction results in altered cardiac function. Insufficient cardiac function is defined as heart failure. • Pericardium. Pericarditis. Inflammation of the pericardium, usually of viral origin. Induces strong pain that mimicks heart attack. Because the pericardium is fibrous and rigid, any effusion will compress the myocardium and impair its function. Pathophysiological importance of the structures • Coronary arteries. Ischemia. Obstruction of the coronary arteries leads to an insufficient supply of blood to the myocardium. • Capillaries. Angiogenesis. Myocardium submitted to chronic ischemic conditions stimulates the growth of neovessels and collaterals to improve oxygen supply. 2. Pump function of the heart The basic function of the heart is to pump blood The heart ejects blood from the thick-walled left ventricle to be propelled through the body, ultimately to reach the peripheral circulation, where oxygen is removed to nourish the various organs and tissues. The deoxygenated venous blood flows back to the right side of the heart, to be ejected from the right ventricle to the lungs, where it is oxygenated before it is directed toward the left atrium and ventricle. Function of the heart Deoxygenated blood Oxygenated blood Venae Cavae Pulmonary Veins Right Atrium Left Atrium Tricuspid Valves (3) Mitral Valves (2) Right Ventricle Left Ventricle Pulmonary Artery Aorta Lungs Periphery Diastole = the ventricle relaxes Systole = the ventricle contracts A normal contractile function requires a tight coupling between cardiac myocytes Cardiac myocytes are physically bound by the intercalated disks Gap Junctions. Tight coupling between myocytes by the connexons for easy passage of small molecules and current Desmosomes. Protein complex that is linked to the sarcomeres by desmin, and which promotes force transfer Coordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle Coordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle 3. Systemic vasculature Conductance – Resistance – Exchange - Return • Conductance vessels. Large arteries with low resistance, used as conduits to carry oxygenated blood toward the organs. • Resistance vessels. Arterioles with thick muscular wall and high resistance, directing the blood flow to the organs that need oxygen. Constitute the Peripheral Vascular Resistance. • Capillaries. Exchange vessels made of an endothelial layer without muscular cells, where oxygen leaves the blood and enter the tissues by diffusion. • Veins. Low-pressure, large-capacitance system containing most of the blood volume, constitute the Venous Capacitance System, returning the blood flow to the right side of the heart. Global scheme of blood circulation Principle of conductance vessels Systole Diastole The pressure drops The pressure remains high to receive blood to keep pushing the blood from the LA Principle of resistance vessels PVR: Peripheral Vascular Resistance Blood flow distribution through capillaries Blood pressure drops in resistance vessels 4. The coronary arteries Coronary arteries are the leading cause of heart disease The left ventricle receives blood from the left coronary artery, that divides in two main branches • the left anterior descending artery (LAD) supplies most of the anterior part of the myocardium • The circumflex artery supplies the lateral and posterior part The right ventricle receives blood from the right coronary artery The posterior descending artery can originate from either the right or left coronary artery 5. The sarcomere The sarcomere is the fundamental contractile unit of the cardiac myocyte It is limited on each side by the Z line, on which actin filaments are attached. Myosin filament originate from the middle of the sarcomere, or M line, but do not attach directly to the Z line. The A band represents the zone of overlap between actin and myosin The I band represents the zone which contains only actin filaments The H band represents the zone which contains only myosin filaments Myosin filaments are indirectly connected to the Z line by the macromolecule Titin, which limits the maximal stretch of the sarcomere and, therefore, of the whole cardiac myocyte. Ultrastructure of the cardiac myocyte The sarcomere is the contractile unit of the myocyte Think “HAZIM” ! Composition of the sarcomere Titin: binds Z line to M line, prevents “overstretching” of the sarcomere Tropomodulin: caps actin filament Nebulette: attaches actin filament to Z line MyBPC: attaches myosin to titin Z line: α-actinin, desmin, CapZ protein M line: myomesin, M line protein, creatine kinase Calcium-induced… …Calcium-release A and I bands result from the interaction of actin and myosin The morphological aspect of the sarcomere depends on the contractile state Sarcomeres are connected to the plasma membrane 6. Cardiac conduction system Rule #1: atria and ventricles cannot contract simultaneously Rule #2: the different parts of a cardiac cavity must contract simultaneously The Sino-Atrial Node is the natural pace-maker of the heart From this node, the current diffuses through both atria The current cannot diffuse freely to the ventricles, because atria and ventricles are separated by fibrous tissue The only point of electrical transmission is the atrio-ventricular node, which slows down the current to avoid simultaneous contraction of atria and ventricles The AV node distributes the current to the His bundle, which separates in one right and two left branches The bundles separate in multiple Purkinje fibers that distribute the current simultaneously to the different parts of the myocardium Principle of conduction system Natural pace-maker Electric slow-down Homogeneous distribution Current transmission is facilitated by gap junctions Gap junctions result from the cell-cell interaction of transmembrane proteins forming the connexon. Connexin 43 is the major protein of the connexon 7. Questions 1. Describe the coronary circulation 2. What is the sarcomere? 3. Why is the blood supply more limited in the subendocardium? 4. What is the role of titin? 5. Which structure is the natural pace-maker of the heart? 6. What is the principle of resistance vessels? 7. What is the diastolic recoil of the aorta? 8. What is a connexon? 9. Describe the cardiac conduction system Molecular Medicine of the Heart Class 2. Physiology of contraction and relaxation Overview of class 2: Physiology of contraction and relaxation 1. The cardiac cycle 2. Determinants of cardiac function 3. Modulation of cardiac pressure 4. Modulation of cardiac volume 5. Neurohumoral regulation of cardiac function 6. Questions 1. The cardiac cycle The seven phases of contraction and relaxation a. Atrial contraction b. Isovolumic contraction c. Maximal ejection d. Reduced ejection/start of relaxation e. Isovolumic relaxation f. Rapid filling g. Slow filling Description of the cardiac cycle – part 1 a. The atrium contracts to finish the left ventricular filling b. The left ventricle starts contracting, which rapidly closes the atrio- ventricular valve. The contraction is isovolumic because the aortic or pulmonary valve is still closed c. The pressure in the ventricle becomes superior to that in the aorta or the pulmonary artery, and therefore the corresponding valve opens.