AUTHOR=Midgett Madeline , López Claudia S. , David Larry , Maloyan Alina , Rugonyi Sandra TITLE=Increased Hemodynamic Load in Early Embryonic Stages Alters Myofibril and Mitochondrial Organization in the Myocardium JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.00631 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2017.00631 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=
Normal blood flow is essential for proper heart formation during embryonic development, as abnormal hemodynamic load (blood pressure and shear stress) results in cardiac defects seen in congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the detrimental remodeling processes that relate altered blood flow to cardiac malformation and defects remain unclear. Heart development is a finely orchestrated process with rapid transformations that occur at the tissue, cell, and subcellular levels. Myocardial cells play an essential role in cardiac tissue maturation by aligning in the direction of stretch and increasing the number of contractile units as hemodynamic load increases throughout development. This study elucidates the early effects of altered blood flow on myofibril and mitochondrial configuration in the outflow tract myocardium