| Understanding the cardiovascular system is critical both from an epidemiological and economic standpoint. Currently heart disease is the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in developed nations costing approximately 450 billion dollars annually. To this extent this thesis will focus on the dynamic interactions between the permanent cellular constituents of the heart, the cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts and the elements of the vasculature, the endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Interactions between these cell types are critical for the form and function of the organ during both development and disease. The interactions between the cells in the heart can be divided into the biochemical, the biomechanical and the electrophysiological. Fibroblasts, termed the sentinel cells of the heart, act as the primary producers of extracellular matrix (ECM) and critical cytokines. Myocytes make up the primary contractile apparatus of the heart and produce some local factors for cardiac regulation. Together these cells interact in a homo and hetrotypic manner to regulate electrophysiological signals, and production of autocrine/paracrine factors that regulate cardiac function in response to changes in the cardiac environment. Moreover these cells interact with the cells in the vasculature in a dynamic bond. The pattern, distribution and activity of the cells in the vasculature regulate the distribution of growth factors and oxygen from the blood. In turn the myoctyes and fibroblasts interact to produce factors that alter the survival and patterns of the cells within the vasculature. |
