Regulation of Myofilament Contractile Function in Human Donor and Failing Hearts

Heart failure (HF) often includes changes in myocardial contractile function. This study addressed the myofibrillar basis for contractile dysfunction in failing human myocardium. Regulation of contractile properties was measured in cardiac myocyte preparations isolated from frozen, left ventricular mid-wall biopsies of donor (n = 7) and failing human hearts (n = 8). Permeabilized cardiac myocyte preparations were attached between a force transducer and a position motor, and both the Ca²⁺ dependence and sarcomere length (SL) dependence of force, rate of force, loaded shortening, and power output were measured at 15 ± 1°C. The myocyte preparation size was similar between groups (donor: length 148 ± 10 μm, width 21 ± 2 μm, n = 13; HF: length 131 ± 9 μm, width 23 ± 1 μm, n = 16). The maximal Ca²⁺-activated isometric force was also similar between groups (donor: 47 ± 4 kN⋅m^–2; HF: 44 ± 5 kN⋅m^–2), which implicates that previously reported force declines in multi-cellular preparations reflect, at least in part, tissue remodeling. Maximal force development rates were also similar between groups (donor: k_tr = 0.60 ± 0.05 s^–1; HF: k_tr = 0.55 ± 0.04 s^–1), and both groups exhibited similar Ca²⁺ activation dependence of k_tr values. Human cardiac myocyte preparations exhibited a Ca²⁺ activation dependence of loaded shortening and power output. The peak power output normalized to isometric force (PNPO) decreased by ∼12% from maximal Ca²⁺ to half-maximal Ca²⁺ activations in both groups. Interestingly, the SL dependence of PNPO was diminished in failing myocyte preparations. During sub-maximal Ca²⁺ activation, a reduction in SL from ∼2.25 to ∼1.95 μm caused a ∼26% decline in PNPO in donor myocytes but only an ∼11% change in failing myocytes. These results suggest that altered length-dependent regulation of myofilament function impairs ventricular performance in failing human hearts.