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Biomedical subjects

L G Meggs

Publications and source records attributed to L G Meggs.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Fibroblast proliferation during myocardial development in rats is regulated by IGF-1 receptors.

To determine whether the growth of cardiac fibroblasts during development is modulated by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 receptor (IGF-1R), the expression of IGF-1, IGF-2, and IGF-1R was determined in fibroblasts from fetal and postnatal hearts. The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and DNA polymerase-alpha was also evaluated in combination with the estimation of DNA replication. In comparison with fetal hearts, at postnatal day 21, fibroblast expression of IGF-1R mRNA, IGF-2, PCNA, and DNA polymerase-alpha was reduced by 77, 70, 80, and 86%, respectively. Moreover, IGF-1R protein decreased by 48% at 21 days. Bromodeoxyuridine labeling decreased by 88 and 89% in the left and right ventricle, respectively, at this time. Two different antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to IGF-1R reduced DNA replication by 60 and 44% in fibroblasts in culture. In addition, this intervention markedly attenuated the growth response of fibroblasts to IGF-1 or serum. In conclusion, the IGF-1R system appears to play a major role in the regulation of fibroblast growth in the heart in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Identification and activation of autocrine renin-angiotensin system in adult ventricular myocytes.

To date, the demonstration that the molecular components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) are present in adult ventricular myocytes is lacking. In addition, whether the RAS is upregulated under conditions of overload and myocyte hypertrophy in vivo remains to be determined. By employing an in vivo model of ischemic cardiomyopathy in rats, we document that adult myocytes express genes for renin, angiotensinogen, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and angiotensin II (ANG II) receptors. Moreover, renin, ACE, and ANG II receptor mRNAs increased in stressed myocytes undergoing cellular hypertrophy. At the protein level, the percentage of myocytes containing renin, ANG I, and ANG II was significantly increased in the overloaded heart. The number of binding sites for ANG II per myocyte also markedly increased under this setting. These results provide direct evidence of the existence of a myocyte RAS, which may be activated in pathological states of the heart to support myocyte growth and contractile function.

Angiotensinogen↗
PubMed1994

Upregulation of IGF1, IGF1-receptor, and late growth related genes in ventricular myocytes acutely after infarction in rats.

To determine the effects of acute myocardial infarction on the expression of insulin-like growth factor1 (IGF1) and insulin-like growth factor1 receptors (IGF-1R) on the surviving myocytes of the left and right ventricles, large infarcts were produced in rats and the animals sacrificed 2 days later. Hemodynamic measurements of left and right ventricular pressures, +dP/dt and -dP/dt, and central venous pressure documented that coronary occlusion was associated with a severe impairment of cardiac function. By employing reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR), a low level of expression of IGF-1R mRNA was detected in myocytes from sham-operated rats. Acute myocardial infarction was found to enhance by nearly twofold the message for IGF-1R in viable myocytes biventricularly. Moreover, IGF1 mRNA increased 4.3-fold and 9.4-fold in left and right myocytes, respectively. In order to establish whether the upregulation of IGF1 and IGF-1R with infarction was coupled with induction of late growth related genes, which are known to be implicated in DNA replication and mitotic division, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and histone-H3 expression was assessed by Northern blot and RTPCR. The level of expression of PCNA mRNA was found to be increased 3.9-fold and 2.4-fold in left and right myocytes, respectively from infarcted hearts. Corresponding increments in histone-H3 mRNA were 25.5-fold and 5.3-fold, respectively. However, PCNA protein as detected by immunoperoxidase staining was restricted to a limited number of myocyte nuclei adjacent to the necrotic myocardium of the left ventricle. In conclusion, acute myocardial infarction is associated with enhanced expression of IGF1 and IGF-1R on stressed myocytes, and this phenomenon may activate genes essential for DNA synthesis, possibly affecting myocyte growth. These processes may be fundamental for the reconstitution of tissue mass and amelioration of function after infarction.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Alterations in angiotensin II receptor mediated signal transduction shortly after coronary artery constriction in the rat.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of coronary artery constriction on the density of angiotensin II receptors and on the effector responses coupled with these receptors on myocytes one week after surgical induction of coronary artery stenosis in rats. METHODS: After induction of coronary artery stenosis and following the estimation of global cardiac performance, myocytes were enzymatically dissociated and radioligand binding studies were performed. In addition, the isotonic contractile performance, cytosolic calcium transients, and angiotensin II stimulated inositol phosphate generation in myocytes were measured in the presence and absence of the angiotensin II receptor subtype antagonist losartan. RESULTS: After documenting left ventricular failure and right ventricular dysfunction, the expression and density of angiotensin II receptors in left ventricular myocytes were evaluated and found to be increased 3.1-fold and 4.1-fold, respectively. Corresponding increases in right ventricular myocytes were 3.6-fold and 4.5-fold. In contrast, the quantity of the regulatory protein Gq alpha was not altered in either ventricle. Angiotensin II did not increase the generation of total inositol phosphates in left and right ventricular myocytes at maximum stimulation. However, the threshold for the formation of inositol phosphates was lowered in left ventricular myocytes of coronary narrowed rats. Measurements of single cell mechanics indicated that angiotensin II stimulation markedly improved the depression in myocyte function biventricularly. This inotropic effect was coupled with the restoration of cytosolic calcium. CONCLUSIONS: The upregulation of angiotensin II receptors on myocytes in this model of global ischaemia may be a compensatory mechanism ameliorating myocyte contractility in an attempt to sustain ventricular pump function.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1994

Coronary artery constriction in rats affects the activation of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors in cardiac myocytes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether alpha 1 adrenergic receptor mediated myocyte contractility and growth are depressed acutely after non-occlusive coronary artery narrowing, the left coronary artery was constricted in rats and mechanical behaviour, cytosolic calcium, and regulation of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors were examined in myocytes seven days later. METHODS: Coronary artery stenosis was surgically induced in rats and following the estimation of global cardiac performance myocytes were enzymatically dissociated and radioligand binding studies were performed. In addition, the isotonic contractile performance, cytosolic calcium transients and noradrenaline stimulated inositol phosphate generation in myocytes were measured in the presence of WB 4101 or after chlorethylclonidine treatment. RESULTS: Estimations of cell mechanics in vitro established that peak shortening was decreased by 36% and 18% in left and right ventricular myocytes of coronary stenosed rats. Time to peak shortening was prolonged by 29% in left and 20% in right myocytes, whereas velocity of shortening was decreased by 27% in left myocytes. These alterations were associated with increases in cell length and width, indicative of myocyte hypertrophy. In addition, coronary stenosis was accompanied by reductions in the expression of alpha 1a and alpha 1b receptor subtypes in myocytes. alpha 1 Adrenergic receptor density and noradrenaline stimulated phosphoinositol turnover were decreased by 30% and 34% in left myocytes. alpha 1a Adrenergic receptor subtype mediated cytosolic calcium concentration and myocyte mechanical performance were also impaired in left myocytes only. The alpha 1a adrenergic receptor subtype antagonist WB 4101 abolished noradrenaline stimulated inositol phosphate generation in myocytes, whereas chlorethylclonidine at large doses only partially inhibited this response. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, coronary narrowing leads to defects in the regulation of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors on myocytes which are coupled with attenuation in the transmission of signals, possibly affecting myocyte cell function and ongoing reactive cellular hypertrophy.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1994

Efficacy of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition and AT1 receptor blockade on cardiac pump performance after myocardial infarction in rats.

To determine whether cardiac unloading by inhibition of angiotensin I (AI) to AII conversion by captopril or blockade of the AII receptor (AT1) by losartan was more effective in prevention of the detrimental hemodynamic consequences of myocardial infarction (MI), inhibition of metabolic production of AII by captopril was compared with blockade of AT1 with losartan in Sprague-Dawley rats with large MI. Infarcts were created by surgical occlusion of the left main coronary artery and oral drug therapy initiated immediately and continued until hemodynamic evaluation seven days later. Heart weight was unchanged in untreated infarcted animals, whereas captopril reduced heart weight in control animals and losartan increased heart weight in infarcted animals. Left ventricular (LV) peak systolic blood pressure (SBP) was lower in treated and untreated infarcted animals. Although captopril reduced end-diastolic pressure (EDP) to a greater degree than losartan, all infarcted group showed an increase in this parameter with respect to similarly treated controls. LV peak rates of pressure increase and decay in infarcted hearts were decreased significantly more by captopril than by losartan administration. Captopril also impaired right side cardiac function more than losartan when peak rate of pressure increase was evaluated. Thus, inhibition of the effects of AII during cardiac failure improved but did not normalize cardiac pump performance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed1994

The cardiocyte as a target for parathyroid hormone in end-stage renal disease.

Approximately 50% of the annual mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is attributed to cardiovascular-related events. Multiple factors, including volume overload, hypertension, electrolyte abnormalities, and the presence of comorbid diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, may have an adverse effect on left ventricular function in ESRD. The purpose of this brief review is to advance the hypothesis that parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a cardiotoxin and a potential mediator of cardiac dysfunction in uremia. Recent studies have provided evidence that cardiocytes possess a distinct class of binding sites for PTH, and the PTH receptor has recently been cloned. Furthermore, the PTH receptor may be coupled to more than one effector pathway. Finally, the possibility that a PTH-related protein autocrine system may be present in cardiocytes and the implications of this signaling pathway on cardiocyte function are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Myocyte loss and left ventricular failure characterise the long term effects of coronary artery narrowing or renal hypertension in rats.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine the effects of chronic coronary artery narrowing and two kidney, one clip renal hypertension alone and in combination on ventricular function and myocardial morphology. METHODS: Left coronary stenosis and renal artery clipping were surgically induced in rats and pump dynamics, systolic and diastolic wall stress, cardiac anatomy, and the changes in number and size of left ventricular myocytes were examined 11-13 weeks later. RESULTS: Ventricular failure evolved with each intervention: left ventricular end diastolic pressure was raised, whereas +dP/dt, -dP/dt, stroke volume, cardiac output, and cardiac index were reduced. Calculated ventricular systolic wall stress increased nearly 70% in the three experimental conditions. By contrast, diastolic wall stress was augmented 6.1-fold with coronary stenosis, 4.0-fold with hypertension, and 4.4-fold with combined treatment. These differences were due to variable preservations of wall thickness between the groups. Left ventricular weight expanded 26%, 35%, and 32% with stenosis, hypertension, and a combination of the two, whereas diastolic cavitary volume increased 57%, 35%, and 49%. Corresponding increases in systolic chamber volumes were 156%, 122%, and 154%. Finally, myocyte loss in the ventricle was 25%, 25%, and 37% in coronary narrowing, renal hypertension and a combination of the two with concomitant enlargements of the unaffected myocytes of 47%, 63%, and 65%. CONCLUSIONS: Decompensated eccentric ventricular hypertrophy developed as a result of coronary artery narrowing, renal hypertension, or the two in combination. Coronary artery narrowing, however, may have a greater maladaptive effect on ventricular function than systemic hypertension, and coronary stenosis and hypertension combined because of the more extensive chamber and wall remodelling which sustained greater increases in diastolic wall stress.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

ANG II receptors, c-myc, and c-jun in myocytes after myocardial infarction and ventricular failure.

To determine the relationship between reactive cardiac hypertrophy and the expression of angiotensin II (ANG II) receptors in surviving myocytes after infarction, large infarcts were produced in rats that were killed 2-3 days later. Measurements of global ventricular dynamics indicated that left ventricular failure and right ventricular dysfunction occurred in experimental animals. These alterations in ventricular pump function were associated with increases in ventricular weight-to-body weight ratio, indicative of developing cardiac hypertrophy. Such a response was coupled with a 6.6-fold increase in ANG II receptor mRNA in myocytes from the left ventricle. A 2.3-fold increase in the expression of ANG II receptor in myocytes from the right ventricle was also found. Radioligand binding assay documented a 44% increase in the density of ANG II receptors on left ventricular myocytes of infarcted hearts. To establish whether the induction of genes commonly associated with myocyte hypertrophy was present, the message for c-myc and c-jun was biventricularly assessed. Myocardial infarction was accompanied by overexpressions of c-myc and c-jun that were more prominent in left than in right ventricular myocytes. In conclusion, the enhanced expression of ANG II receptor and its receptor protein and c-myc and c-jun in myocytes may participate in the reactive growth processes of these cells after infarction.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Alterations in ANG II responsiveness in left and right myocardium after infarction-induced heart failure in rats.

To determine the effects of coronary arterial occlusion on the contractile response of the heart to angiotensin II (ANG II) administration, large infarcts were surgically induced in Sprague-Dawley rats at 2 mo of age. Forty-eight hours later, hearts from experimental animals presented a hemodynamic profile indicative of left ventricular failure and right ventricular dysfunction and revealed a loss of mass of 49.3 +/- 10.8% of the left ventricle inclusive of the interventricular septum. Plasma renin activity was found to be decreased by 48% in animals with occlusion of the left main coronary artery. Left and right posterior papillary muscles removed from these same hearts were evaluated mechanically in the presence and absence of ANG II. Contractile performance was impaired in left ventricular myocardium from infarcted rats as evidenced by the inability to attain developed tension similar to that seen in control rats. In addition, peak rates of tension rise and decay were significantly depressed. A reduction in contraction duration was also found in experimental animals, limiting the active state of the myocardium. ANG II resulted in a depression in the force-generating ability of left and right papillary muscles of control and experimental animals. Importantly, the negative inotropic effect of ANG II affected the left and right myocardium from infarcted rats by nearly twofold and threefold more than the corresponding muscles from controls. Morphometric evaluation revealed the absence of damage in both papillary muscles from control hearts and in the right muscles from experimental animals. However, necrotic tissue comprised 28.3 +/- 9.8% of left papillary muscles obtained from infarcted ventricles. It is concluded that ANG II administration resulted in reduced mechanical performance of rat myocardium. Coronary arterial ligation potentiated this phenomenon, and such a negative effect may have implication in infarction induced heart failure in vivo.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1993

Regulation of angiotensin II receptors on ventricular myocytes after myocardial infarction in rats.

To determine the effects of acute myocardial infarction on the regulation of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors and contractile performance of left and right ventricular myocytes, coronary artery ligation was surgically induced in rats, and Ang II receptor density and affinity and the mechanical properties of surviving muscle cells were examined 1 week later. Physiological determinations of cardiac pump function revealed the presence of ventricular failure, which was associated at the cellular level with a depression in the velocity of myocyte shortening and relengthening, a prolongation of time to peak shortening, and a reduction in the extent of cell shortening. These abnormalities in single-cell function were more prominent in left than in right ventricular myocytes. Cellular hypertrophy was documented by increases in cell length and width, which were also greater in the spared myocytes of the infarcted left ventricle. Reactive hypertrophy was accompanied by a 1.84- and 1.85-fold increase in the density of Ang II receptors on left and right myocytes, respectively. On the other hand, the affinity of Ang II receptors for the radiolabeled antagonist was not altered. However, Ang II-stimulated phosphoinositol turnover was enhanced by 3.7- and 2.5-fold in left and right myocytes, respectively, after infarction. Ventricular myocytes were found to possess the AT1 receptor subtype exclusively. In conclusion, myocardial infarction leads to impairment in the contractile behavior of the remaining cells and to the activation of Ang II receptors and effector pathway associated with these receptors, which may be involved in the reactive growth adaptation of the viable myocytes.

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed1992

Re-expression of alpha skeletal actin and regulation of alpha 1 adrenoceptor signalling in DOCA-salt hypertension in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of increased sympathetic nervous system activity in humoral hypertension on the regulation of surface alpha 1 adrenoceptors and signal transduction, deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) salt hypertension was induced in rats and the animals killed three weeks following the initiation of hypertension. METHODS: Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, divided into two groups: DOCA-salt (n = 75), and control (n = 60). Radioligand binding studies of the alpha 1 adrenoceptors, noradrenaline stimulated phosphoinositol turnover, ADP ribosylation of 41 kD substrate by pertussis toxin, and myocardial noradrenaline content were measured in the ventricular myocardium. The expression of sarcomeric actin isoforms was examined by northern blot and hybridisation with specific oligonucleotide probes. RESULTS: The density of alpha 1 adrenoceptors was decreased by 51% in DOCA-salt treated rats. However, noradrenaline stimulated phosphoinositol turnover in myocytes from DOCA-salt hearts was not diminished. The relative quantities of pertussis toxin labelled substrates did not differ in experimental and control hearts. Myocardial noradrenaline content was reduced by 60% in DOCA-salt hearts. Northern blots on RNA extracted from hypertrophic hearts of DOCA-salt treated rats showed an upregulation of alpha skeletal actin. CONCLUSIONS: The adrenergic state present in short term DOCA-salt hypertensive hypertrophy is characterised by enhanced signal transduction via the alpha 1 adrenoceptors and the re-expression of alpha skeletal actin in enlarging myocytes.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Chronic coronary arterial stenosis impairs alpha 1-adrenoreceptor signaling and cardiac performance in rats.

Coronary stenosis was induced in rats to determine whether chronic coronary artery constriction resulted in impairment of cardiac pump performance, alterations in alpha 1-adrenoreceptor signal transduction, and inadequate myocardial hypertrophy, and these parameters were examined 6 mo later. A 50% reduction in coronary diameter was associated with an elevation in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, whereas left ventricular peak systolic pressure, rate of pressure rise and decay were reduced. The hypertrophic response was modest, since statistically significant increases of 11% and 23% in left and right ventricular weights were measured. Radioligand binding documented an 18% and a 38% statistically significant reduction in alpha 1-adrenoreceptor density of the left and right myocardium, respectively. ADP ribosylation of the 41-kDa substrate by pertussis toxin showed a 16% significant decrease of this parameter in the left myocardium. Moreover, a 29% decrease in norepinephrine stimulated phosphoinositol turnover was seen in myocytes, and this change was statistically significant. The depressed generation of intracellular second messengers linked to the alpha 1-adrenoreceptors was found in conjunction with a 19% significant reduction in myocardial norepinephrine content. In conclusion, the long-term effects of coronary stenosis involve impaired transduction of adrenergic signals, which, in combination with constraints on myocardial growth, may participate in the onset of ventricular dysfunction in this model.

Actins↗
PubMed1991

Cellular basis of chronic ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction in rats.

To determine whether the hypertrophic response of the surviving myocardium after infarction leads to normalization of ventricular hemodynamics and wall stress, the left coronary artery was ligated in rats. One month later, the rats were killed. In infarcts affecting an average 38% of the free wall of the left ventricle (small infarcts), reactive hypertrophy in the spared myocardium bordering and remote from the scar was documented by increases in myocyte cell volume per nucleus of 43% and 25%, respectively. These cellular enlargements resulted in a complete reconstitution of functioning tissue. However, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was increased, left ventricular dP/dt was decreased, and diastolic wall stress was increased 2.4-fold. After infarctions resulting in a 60% loss of mass (large infarcts), myocyte hypertrophy was 81% and 32% in the regions adjacent to and distant from the scar, respectively. A 10% deficit was present in the recovery of viable myocardium. Functionally, ventricular performance was markedly depressed, and diastolic wall stress was increased ninefold. The alterations in loading of the spared myocardium were due to an increase in chamber volume and a decrease in the myocardial mass/chamber volume ratio that affected both infarct groups. Chamber dilation was the consequence of the combination of gross anatomic and cellular changes consisting, in the presence of small infarcts, of a 6% and a 19% increase in transverse midchamber diameter and in average myocyte length per nucleus, respectively. In the presence of large infarcts, transverse and longitudinal chamber diameters expanded by 27% and 11%, respectively, myocyte length per nucleus expanded by 26%, and the mural number of myocytes decreased by 10%. In conclusion, decompensated eccentric ventricular hypertrophy develops chronically after infarction, and growth processes in myocytes are inadequate for normalization of wall stress when myocyte loss involves nearly 40% or more of the cells of the left ventricular free wall. The persistance of elevated myocardial and cellular loads may sustain the progression of the disease state toward end-stage congestive heart failure.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1991

Chronic nonocclusive coronary artery constriction in rats. Beta-adrenoceptor signal transduction and ventricular failure.

To determine the effects of chronic coronary artery constriction on the relationship between cardiac function and regulation of beta-adrenoceptor signal transduction, the left main coronary artery was narrowed in rats and the animals were killed 5 mo later. An average reduction in coronary luminal diameter of 44% was obtained and this change resulted in an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and a decrease in positive and negative dP/dt. Significant increases in left and right ventricular weights indicative of global cardiac hypertrophy were observed. Radioligand binding studies of beta-adrenoreceptors, agonist-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity, and ADP ribosylation of 45-kD substrate by cholera toxin were all depressed in the failing left ventricle. In contrast, in the hypertrophic non-failing right ventricle, beta-adrenoreceptor density was preserved and receptor antagonist affinity was increased. In spite of these findings at the receptor level, agonist stimulated cyclic AMP generation was reduced in the right ventricular myocardium. The quantity of the 45-kD substrate was also decreased. In conclusion, longterm nonocclusive coronary artery stenosis of moderate degree has profound detrimental effects on the contractile performance of the heart in association with marked attenuation of adrenergic support mechanisms.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1990

Adaptive myocardial hypertrophy in the renal ablation model.

We have previously reported downregulation of the vascular alpha 1-receptor in the 5/6 renal ablation model. In this investigation we have examined the adaptive response of the heart following 5/6 renal ablation. Renal ablated and sham rats were maintained under identical conditions for 6 weeks. Despite the presence of systemic hypertension in renal ablated rats (185 +/- 10 mm Hg, P less than .01), heart weight did not differ from sham. [125I] +/- CYP binding was performed and myocardial norepinephrine (NE) content determined to evaluate myocardial sympathetic neuroeffector mechanisms. Scatchard analysis and 1-isoproterenol competition curves did not reveal a difference in the binding properties of the myocardial beta-receptor. No difference in myocardial NE was found in renal ablated and sham rats. Unexpectedly, 1-isoproterenol stimulation of adenylate cyclase was impaired in renal ablated rats (32.6 +/- 6 v 58.6 +/- 5 pmol/mg/min, P less than .01) and the dose response curve shifted to the right. We conclude that despite systemic hypertension an adaptive hypertrophic response was not present in hearts of renal ablated rats; myocardial sympathetic neuroeffector mechanisms are not altered in this model; and impaired stimulation of adenylate cyclase appears to be the result of a post-receptor defect.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1990

Myocyte cell loss and myocyte cellular hyperplasia in the hypertrophied aging rat heart.

To determine the effects of age on the myocardium, the functional and structural characteristics of the heart were studied in rats at 4, 12, 20, and 29 months of age. Mean arterial pressure, left ventricular pressure and its first derivative (dP/dt), and heart rate were comparable in rat groups up to 20 months. During the interval from 20 to 29 months, elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and decreased dP/dt indicated that a significant impairment of ventricular function occurred with senescence. In the period between 4 and 12 months, a reduction of nearly 19% in the total number of myocytes was measured in both ventricles. In the subsequent ages, similar decreases in myocyte cell number were found in the left ventricle, whereas in the right ventricle, the initial loss was fully reversed by 20 months. Moreover, from 20 to 29 months, a 59% increase in the aggregate number of myocytes occurred in the right ventricular myocardium. In the left ventricle, a 3% increment was also seen, but this small change was not statistically significant. These estimations of myocyte cellular hyperplasia, however, were complicated by the fact that cell loss continued to take place with age. The volume fraction of collagen in the tissue, in fact, progressively increased from 8% and 7% at 4 months to 16% and 22% at 29 months in the left and right ventricles, respectively. In conclusion, myocyte cellular hyperplasia tends to regenerate the ventricular mass being lost with age in the adult mammalian rat heart.

Aging↗