Proteins responsible for the pumping force of the heart beat and muscle cell contraction appear to cluster together in intercalated discs in an extremely organized fashion. Scientists from the NYU ...

Diseased hearts may be thrown out of rhythm by structural differences -- now visible for the first time -- in protein groups that connect heart muscle cells, according to the authors of a new study.

The Journal of Cell Biology (JCB) is a not-for-profit publication, edited by scientists, and a leading life sciences journal. The JCB publishes papers on all aspects of cellular structure and function ...

Adhesion between cardiac myocytes is essential for the heart to function as an electromechanical syncytium. Although cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesions reorganize during development and disease, the ...

Myofibril assembly results in a regular array of identical sarcomeres in striated muscle. Sarcomere structure is conserved across the animal kingdom, which implies that the mechanisms of myofibril ...

The intercalated discs that connect cardiomyocytes control cell-to-cell adhesion and communication. Several macromolecular structures (desmosomes, fascia adherens junctions, gap junctions, and ...