Current Concepts in the Role of Mechanosensing in the Regulation of Cardiac Contractile Function

The heart as a contractile organ finely tunes mechanical parameters such as stroke volume, stroke pressure and cardiac output according to filling volumes, filling pressures via intrinsic and neuronal routes. At the cellular level, cardiac myocytes in beating hearts are exposed to large changes in mechanical stress during successive heart beats. Physical stimuli sensed by cells are transmitted through intracellular signal transduction pathways resulting in altered physiological responses or pathological conditions. Although the mechanisms of excitation-contraction coupling have been well established in mammalian heart cells, the putative contribution of mechanosensitive receptors, channels, signaling factors and force generation has been primarily investigated in relation to heart contraction, growth and leading to heart failure. We present an overview of the current literature and concepts of mechanical sensors residing within the plasma membrane, mechanosensitive receptors induced downstream signaling factors and their potential roles in cardiac contraction and growth.