Cardiac muscle cell proliferation and cell differentiation in vivo and in vitro.

Abstract

Terminal differentiation of the cardiac muscle cell can be viewed as a series of events. These events can be broadly separated into two divisions. One is the activation of specific genes and acquisition of cell specific functions such as the synthesis and assembly of the contractile proteins and the establishment of contractile force. The other division can be viewed as the inactivation of specific genes and the loss of specific functions such as the loss of enzymes and other proteins which are needed to replicate DNA and cessation of DNA replication and cell division. There are a multitude of changes which occur in the biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and morphology of the cardiac muscle cell as it differentiates and in the intact heart in general, during early growth and development. This review will be confined to the ventricular cardiac muscle cell of the laboratory rat and will be concerned with selected aspects of cellular proliferation, differentiation, morphology and metabolism and will deal primarily with studies carried out in this laboratory.