Preparing Excitable Cardiac Papillary Muscle and Cardiac Slices for Functional Analyses

While the reductionist approach has been fruitful in understanding the molecular basis of muscle function, intact excitable muscle preparations are still important as experimental model systems. We present here methods that are useful for preparing cardiac papillary muscle and cardiac slices, which represent macroscopic experimental model systems with fully intact intercellular and intracellular structures. The maintenance of these in vivo structures for experimentation in vitro have made these model systems especially useful for testing the functional effects of protein mutations and pharmaceutical candidates. We provide solutions recipes for dissection and recording, instructions for removing and preparing the cardiac papillary muscles, as well as instruction for preparing cardiac slices. These instructions are suitable for beginning experimentalists but may be useful for veteran muscle physiologists hoping to reacquaint themselves with macroscopic functional analyses.

Automated summary

The reductionist approach has been valuable in understanding muscle function at the molecular level, but intact excitable muscle preparations still play a crucial role as experimental model systems. This article presents methods for preparing cardiac papillary muscle and cardiac slices, which serve as macroscopic experimental models with fully intact intercellular and intracellular structures. These model systems have proven to be especially useful for testing the functional effects of protein mutations and pharmaceutical candidates. The article provides solutions recipes for dissection and recording, as well as instructions for removing and preparing the cardiac papillary muscles and cardiac slices. These instructions are suitable for novice experimentalists and can also serve as a refresher for experienced muscle physiologists.