ScienCell - Model MCM M6200 - Mouse Cardiac Myocytes from CD1 - Brochure

Cardiac myocytes are the most physically energetic cells in the body. They are highly specialized high-oxygen-content cells that house a large number of mitochondria [1]. They occupy as much as 75% of the cardiac mass, but constitute only about one third of the total cell number in the heart. Differentiated cardiac myocytes have little capacity to proliferate; however, hypertrophic growth has been shown to respond to alpha1-adrenergic stimuli via the Ras/MEK pathway [2]. All cardiac myocytes are capable of spontaneous rhythmic depolarization and repolarization of their membranes. Contraction of cardiac myocytes is myogenic, which is independent of nervous stimulation. There is a complex network of signals in cardiac myocytes regulating the rhythmic pumping of the heart [3].