Figure 5.

Disrupted ultrastructure in Cypher knockout (CKO) mouse heart. Transmission electron microscopy showing some disorganized Z-lines in cardiomyocytes from CKO mice at 1 month of age while most Z-line structures remain intact (B) compared with the well-organized and condensed Z-line structures in control littermates (A). At 3 months of age, Z-lines are completely disrupted in cardiomyocytes from CKO mice (D) when compared with normal Z-lines in control littermates (C). Magnified figures to show the dispersed and punctured Z-lines better in a 3-month-old CKO mouse (inducible cardiac-specific CKO mice) compared with intact Z-lines in the control littermate (E).