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First published online August 21, 2009
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.032334

Development 136, 3185-3193 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
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Connexin 43 regulates epicardial cell polarity and migration in coronary vascular development

David Y. Rhee1,*,{dagger}, Xiao-Qing Zhao1,*, Richard J. B. Francis1, Guo Ying Huang3, John D. Mably2 and Cecilia W. Lo1,{ddagger}

1 Laboratory of Developmental Biology, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
2 Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital Boston and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
3 Children's Hospital Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.

{ddagger} Author for correspondence (loc{at}nhlbi.nih.gov)

Accepted 14 July 2009

Connexin 43 knockout (Cx43 KO) mice exhibit conotruncal malformations and coronary artery defects. We observed epicardial blisters in the Cx43 KO hearts that suggest defects in epicardial epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), a process that generates coronary vascular progenitors. Analysis using a three-dimensional collagen gel invasion assay showed that Cx43 KO epicardial cells are less invasive and that, unlike wild-type epicardial cells, they fail to organize into thin vessel-like projections. Examination of Cx43 KO hearts using Wt1 as an epicardial marker revealed a disorganized pattern of epicardial cell infiltration. Time-lapse imaging and motion analysis using epicardial explants showed a defect in directional cell migration. This was associated with changes in the actin/tubulin cytoskeleton. A defect in cell polarity was indicated by a failure of the microtubule-organizing center to align with the direction of cell migration. Forced expression of Cx43 constructs in epicardial explants showed the Cx43 tubulin-binding domain is required for Cx43 modulation of cell polarity and cell motility. Pecam staining revealed early defects in remodeling of the primitive coronary vascular plexuses in the Cx43 KO heart. Together, these findings suggest an early defect in coronary vascular development arising from a global perturbation of the cytoarchitecture of the cell. Consistent with this, we found aberrant myocardialization of the outflow tract, a process also known to be EMT dependent. Together, these findings suggest cardiac defects in the Cx43 KO mice arise from the disruption of cell polarity, a process that may be dependent on Cx43-tubulin interactions.

Key words: Epicardium, Connexin 43, Heart development, Coronary vessels, Mouse


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2009