The thin and thick filaments of muscle sarcomeres are interconnected by the giant protein
titin, which is a scaffolding filament, signaling platform, and provider of passive tension and
elasticity in myocytes. This review summarizes recent insight into the mechanisms behind
how titin gene mutations cause hereditary cardiomyopathy and how titin protein is
mechanically active in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. A main theme is the evolving role of
titin as a modulator of contraction. Topics include strain-sensing via titin in the sarcomeric A …