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Elastic filaments refer mainly to titin, the largest of all known proteins. Titin was discovered initially in muscle cells, where it interconnects the thick filament with the Z-line. Titin forms a molecular spring that is responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of contracting muscle, ensuring efficient muscle contraction. More recently, it has become clear that titin is not restricted to muscle cells alone. For example, titin is found in chromosomes of neurons and also in blood platelets. This topic is fast becoming a focal point for research in understanding viscoelastic properties at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. In titin may lie a generic basis for biological vi...
A representative cross-section of elastic biomolecules is covered in this volume, which combines seventeen contributions from leading research groups. State-of-the-art molecular mechanics experiments are described dealing with the elasticity of DNA and nucleoprotein complexes, titin and titin-like proteins in muscle, as well as proteins of the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix. The book speaks particularly to cell biologists, biophysicists, or bioengineers, and to senior researchers and graduate students alike, who are interested in recent advances in single-molecule technology (optical tweezers technique, atomic force microscopy), EM imaging, and computer simulation approaches to study nanobiomechanics. The findings discussed here have redefined our view of the role mechanical signals play in cellular functions and have greatly helped improve our understanding of biological elasticity in general.
Muscle contraction has been the focus of scientific investigation for more than two centuries, and major discoveries have changed the field over the years. Early in the twentieth century, Fenn (1924, 1923) showed that the total energy liberated during a contraction (heat + work) was increased when the muscle was allowed to shorten and perform work. The result implied that chemical reactions during contractions were load-dependent. The observation underlying the “Fenn effect” was taken to a greater extent when Hill (1938) published a pivotal study showing in details the relation between heat production and the amount of muscle shortening, providing investigators with the force-velocity re...
This book brings together three decades worth of collaborative research to address the question "What sustains life?" In part a scientific response to Schrödinger's work "What is Life?" this text contains elements of memoir, history, and a solid, informative scientific core that will interest the general reader, student, and professional researcher.
Cardiac Mechano-Electric Coupling and Arrhythmias offers a thoroughly reviewed compendium written by leading experts in the field on the mechanism and consequences of cardiac mechano-electrical coupling. Its coverage ranges from stretch-activated ion channels to mechanically induced arrhythmias and mechanical interventions for heart rhythm correction. Information is grouped into logical sections, from molecular mechanisms, to cell, tissue and whole organ responses, right through to patient-based observations and insight emerging from clinical trials. The information provided carefully highlights both consensus insight and current shortcomings in our understanding of cardiac mechano-electric coupling. The book has been thoroughly revised and expanded since publication of the first edition in 2005, extensively updated to reflect recent developments in the field, and now offers a more balanced view of mechano-electrical interactions in the heart and develops a more clinical focus. Written with the practising cardiologist and junior doctor in mind, it offers interesting new insight for the established physician with an interest in cardiac arrhythmogenesis and heart rhythm management.