Can Temperature-Dependent Changes in Myocardial Contractility Explain Why Fish Only Increase Heart Rate When Exposed to Acute Warming?

5Citations
Citations of this article
18Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.
Get full text

Abstract

Fish increase heart rate (fH), not stroke volume (VS), when acutely warmed as a way to increase cardiac output (Q). To assess whether aspects of myocardial function may have some basis in determining temperature-dependent cardiac performance, we measured work and power (shortening, lengthening and net) in isolated segments of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) ventricular muscle at the fish's acclimation temperature (14°C), and at 22°C, when subjected to increased rates of contraction (30-105 min-1, emulating increased fH) and strain amplitude (8-14%, mimicking increased VS). At 22o C, shortening power (indicative of Q) increased in proportion to fH, and the work required to re-lengthen (stretch) the myocardium (fill the heart) was largely independent of fH. In contrast, the increase in shortening power was less than proportional when strain was augmented, and lengthening work approximately doubled when strain was increased. Thus, the derived relationships between fH, strain, and myocardial shortening power and lengthening work, suggest that: increasing fH would be preferable as a mechanism to increase Q at high temperatures; or in fact, may be an unavoidable response given constraints on muscle mechanics as temperatures rise. Interestingly, at 14o C, lengthening work increased substantially at higher fHs, and the duration of lengthening (i.e., diastole) became severely constrained when fH was increased. These data suggest that myocardial contraction / twitch kinetics greatly constrain maximal fH at cool temperatures, and may underlie observations that fish elevate VS to an equal or greater extent than fH to meet demands for increased Q at lower temperatures.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Gamperl, A. K., Thomas, A. L., & Syme, D. A. (2022). Can Temperature-Dependent Changes in Myocardial Contractility Explain Why Fish Only Increase Heart Rate When Exposed to Acute Warming? Journal of Experimental Biology, 225(4). https://doi.org/10.1242/JEB.243152

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free