Cardiac myofibril networks induce shear stress

Myofibril arrangement is critical to cardiac muscle function in health and disease. Historically, analysis of the impact of myofibril organisation on force and cell contraction has relied on the assumption of uniaxial arrays. However, improvements in imaging indicate that myofibrils form complex networks, though how these networks modulate force has yet to be explored. Here, morphological analysis of sheep left-ventricular cardiomyocytes is utilised to inform a non-linear finite element model of cell contraction. Analysis of deep learning segmentations of Z-Discs demonstrate that myofibrils are oriented about the major axis (mean = 0.03°) but deviate locally by up to 30° (standard deviation = 6.56°). Simulations produce unique deformations for geometries informed by myofibril orientations, displaying internal rotation and off-axis deformations. Moreover, anisotropy generates shear stresses distinct from the uniaxial case, demonstrating spatial relationships that balance shear across the cell. These findings highlight the impact of myofibril networks on forces during cell contraction.