Mechanical inactivity depresses protein expression in cardiac muscle tissue and results in atrophy. We explore the mechanical transduction mechanism in spontaneously beating neonatal rat cardiomyocytes expressing the α-myosin heavy chain (α-MyHC) isoform by interfering with cross-bridge function [2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM), 7.5 mM] without affecting cell calcium. The polysome content and α-MyHC mRNA levels in fractions from a sucrose gradient were analyzed. BDM treatment blocked translation at initiation (162 ± 12% in the nonpolysomal RNA fraction and 43 ± 6% in the polysomal fraction, relative to control as 100%; P < 0.05). There was an increase in α-MyHC mRNA from the nonpolysomal fraction (120.5 ± 7.7%; P < 0.05 compared with control) with no significant change in the heavy polysomes. In situ hybridization of α-MyHC mRNA was used to estimate message abundance as a function of the distance from the nucleus. The mRNA was dispersed through the cytoplasm in spontaneously beating cells as well as in BDM-treated cells (no significant difference). We conclude that direct inhibition of contractile machinery, but not calcium, regulates initiation of α-MyHC mRNA translation. However, calcium, not pure mechanical signals, appears to be important for message localization.
Investigation of size–dependent cell adhesion on nanostructured interfaces