Are pacemaker cells cardiomyocytes?
These cells are modified cardiomyocytes. They possess rudimentary contractile filaments, but contract relatively weakly compared to the cardiac contractile cells. The pacemaker cells are connected to neighboring contractile cells via gap junctions, which enable them to locally depolarize adjacent cells.
Can cardiomyocytes regenerate?
Fetal and neonatal cardiomyocytes have been shown to proliferate and then repair the damaged tissues. Nevertheless, adult mammalian hearts hardly regenerate functional myocardium after injury due to inadequate cardiomyocyte renewal.
What is the function of cardiomyocyte?
Cardiomyocytes are the cells responsible for generating contractile force in the intact heart. Specialized cardiomyocytes form the cardiac conduction system, responsible for control of rhythmic beating of the heart.
Where is the internodal pathway located?
The anterior internodal tract passes from the sinus node to sweep anterior to the superior vena cava into Bachmann’s bundle, where it divides to distribute to the left atrium and to curve back into the interatrial septum and descend to the A-V node.
Which cells act as the heart’s pacemaker?
The sinoatrial (SA) node or sinus node is the heart’s natural pacemaker. It’s a small mass of specialized cells in the top of the right atrium (upper chamber of the heart). It produces the electrical impulses that cause your heart to beat.
How do you regenerate cardiomyocytes?
If we can avoid retroviral infection and develop safer gene introduction methods, direct reprogramming is the most effective method to regenerate cardiomyocytes. The cell source of the direct reprogramming is the cardiac fibroblast.
How are cardiomyocytes replaced?
Although the average renewal rates are relatively low during a human’s lifetime, approximately 39% of all cardiomyocytes are replaced by post-natally generated myocytes in the left ventricle, and 36% of these cells are already exchanged by the age of 10 years22 (Figure 4A and B).