image: A heart cell labeled with the membrane staining dye, Di-8-ANEPPS (green), is attached to a biological adhesive, MyoTak (red). The adhesive coats two glass micro-rods (not seen in the fluorescent image), which are used to attach and stretch single heart cells. A 3-D reconstruction of this interaction is rotated along the cell's longitudinal axis to show the interface of the cell and biological glue. With these tools, Prosser et al. show that stretching a heart cell triggers the production of reactive oxygen species and the release of calcium from intracellular stores. This mechano-transduction pathway is dependent on the microtubule network, and altered in disease. In the background is the microtubule network (blue) of a heart cell (oriented vertically) afflicted with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Sept. 9, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. B.L. Prosser of University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., and colleagues was titled, "X-ROS Signaling: Rapid Mechano-Chemo Transduction in Heart." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Benjamin L. Prosser, Christopher W. Ward and W.J. Lederer