26 research outputs found
Heavy and light roles: myosin in the morphogenesis of the heart
Myosin is an essential component of cardiac muscle, from the onset of cardiogenesis through to the adult heart. Although traditionally known for its role in energy transduction and force development, recent studies
suggest that both myosin heavy-chain and myosin lightchain
proteins are required for a correctly formed heart.
Myosins are structural proteins that are not only expressed
from early stages of heart development, but when mutated
in humans they may give rise to congenital heart defects.
This review will discuss the roles of myosin, specifically
with regards to the developing heart. The expression of
each myosin protein will be described, and the effects that
altering expression has on the heart in embryogenesis in
different animal models will be discussed. The human
molecular genetics of the myosins will also be reviewed
Cardiovascular development: towards biomedical applicability: Epicardium-derived cells in cardiogenesis and cardiac regeneration
During cardiogenesis, the epicardium grows from the proepicardial organ to form the outermost layer of the early heart. Part of the epicardium undergoes epithelial-mesenchymal transformation, and migrates into the myocardium. These epicardium- derived cells differentiate into interstitial fibroblasts, coronary smooth muscle cells, and perivascular fibroblasts. Moreover, epicardium-derived cells are important regulators of formation of the compact myocardium, the coronary vasculature, and the Purkinje fiber network, thus being essential for proper cardiac development. The fibrous structures of the heart such as the fibrous heart skeleton and the semilunar and atrioventricular valves also depend on a contribution of these cells during development. We hypothesise that the essential properties of epicardium-derived cells can be recapitulated in adult diseased myocardium. These cells can therefore be considered as a novel source of adult stem cells useful in clinical cardiac regeneration therapy