Nature: Reveals the molecular mechanisms by which the shape of myocardial fibers affect heart function and heart failure.

September 4, 2020 // -- In a recent study published in the international journal Nature, scientists from cold spring harbor laboratories and other institutions analyzed the function of complex mesh structures of muscle fibers located on the inner surface of the heart, revealing the molecular mechanisms by which the shape of the heart muscle affects heart function and heart failure.
For humans, the heart is the first functional organ to develop, starting spontaneously just four weeks after conception, and in the early stages of development, the heart grows a complex and fine network of muscle fibers, the myocardial beam structure ial trabeculae, which forms geometric patterns of the inner surface of the heart, and the small beams of the heart muscle are thought to help the heart supply oxygen, but the structure's role in the adult body has been a mystery since the 16th century.
Photo Source: Spencer Philipps/EMBL-EBI, 2020 Researcher Hannah Meyer says this study sheds light on the importance of the structure of myocardial beams and, perhaps more importantly, the value of a truly multidisciplinary research team that, by combining genetics, clinical research and bioengineering, researchers may be able to explain the key role that heart muscle girder plays in adult heart function.
To understand the role and development of myocardial beams, researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze 25,000 heart MRI images and associated heart morphology and genetic data, revealing how heart muscle girder works and develops, and how changes in their shape can shape individual heart disease.
The results of this paper answer a very old question in basic human biology research, and with the development of large-scale genetic analysis and artificial intelligence technology, researchers are now opening up the understanding and exploration of physiological research on an unprecedented scale; Like resistance, it helps golf balls fly farther; the researchers found that six regions of human DNA may affect the development patterns of the fibrous images in these muscle fibers, and interestingly, the researchers also found that two of them regulate the branching of nerve cells, perhaps revealing a similar mechanism that functions in the developing brain.
Researchers found that the shape of the small beams of the heart muscle affects the function of the heart, revealing a potential link to heart disease, and to confirm this, they analyzed genetic data from 50,000 patients and found that different patterns of fibrosis in muscle fibers may affect individuals. The risk of heart failure, which currently affects about 5 million Americans, could help scientists better understand the causes of common heart disease and find more therapeutic options, the researchers said.
() Original source: Meyer, H.V., Dawes, T.J.W., Serrani, M. et al. Genetic and functional insights into the fractal structure of the heart. Nature 584, 589-594 (2020). doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2635-8.