Creating a Structurally Realistic Finite Element Geometric Model of a Cardiomyocyte to Study the Role of Cellular Architecture in Cardiomyocyte Systems Biology

With the advent of three-dimensional (3D) imaging technologies such as electron tomography, serial-block-face scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy, the scientific community has unprecedented access to large datasets at sub-micrometer resolution that characterize the architectural remodeling that accompanies changes in cardiomyocyte function in health and disease. However, these datasets have been under-utilized for investigating the role of cellular architecture remodeling in cardiomyocyte function. The purpose of this protocol is to outline how to create an accurate finite element model of a cardiomyocyte using high resolution electron microscopy and confocal microscopy images. A detailed and accurate model of cellular architecture has significant potential to provide new insights into cardiomyocyte biology, more than experiments alone can garner. The power of this method lies in its ability to computationally fuse information from two disparate imaging modalities of cardiomyocyte ultrastructure to develop one unified and detailed model of the cardiomyocyte. This protocol outlines steps to integrate electron tomography and confocal microscopy images of adult male Wistar (name for a specific breed of albino rat) rat cardiomyocytes to develop a half-sarcomere finite element model of the cardiomyocyte. The procedure generates a 3D finite element model that contains an accurate, high-resolution depiction (on the order of ~35 nm) of the distribution of mitochondria, myofibrils and ryanodine receptor clusters that release the necessary calcium for cardiomyocyte contraction from the sarcoplasmic reticular network (SR) into the myofibril and cytosolic compartment. The model generated here as an illustration does not incorporate details of the transverse-tubule architecture or the sarcoplasmic reticular network and is therefore a minimal model of the cardiomyocyte. Nevertheless, the model can already be applied in simulation-based investigations into the role of cell structure in calcium signaling and mitochondrial bioenergetics, which is illustrated and discussed using two case studies that are presented following the detailed protocol.