Engineering Mechanics

Proceedings Vol. 13 (2007)

ENGINEERING MECHANICS 2007

Copyright © 2007 Institute of Thermomechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Prague

 

Pásek M., Šimurda J.
pages 213 - +4p., full text

The transverse (T-) tubules of cardiac ventricular myocytes create a complex network of membrane invaginations. Many of the key proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling appear to be located predominantly at the Ttubule membrane. Despite their importance, the fraction of cell membrane within the T-tubules remains unclear: for example, measurement of cell capacitance following detubulation in rat cardiomyocytes suggests ~32%, whereas optical measurements suggest up to ~65%. We have therefore investigated the factors that may account for this discrepancy. Calculation of the combinations of Ttubule radius, length and density that produce T-tubular membrane fractions of 32% or 56% suggest that the true fraction is at the upper end of this range.

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