Tiny deletion in heart muscle protein linked to long-term effects on adult atrial fibrillation

Graphical abstract. Credit: iScience (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110395 Millions of adults have atrial fibrillation—an irregular beating of the upper chambers of the heart that yields increased risk of heart failure, stroke and death. Many genetic mutations in the developing fetus can lead to adult atrial fibrillation, including mutations that shorten the massive protein titin in cardiac muscle cells. Now, in a study in zebrafish and human heart muscle cells, researchers show that a tiny deletion in the A-band of titin—the loss of just nine amino acids out of more than 27,000 to 35,000 amino acids of an intact titin protein—causes a Read More