First published online August 25, 2005
Development 132, 1805e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Heart valve development: from genes to cells
Heart valves form from endocardial cushions during late development to
prevent retrograde blood flow. Because cardiac valve and heart septation
defects are common human congenital disorders, it is crucially important to
understand their aetiology. On p.
4193, Beis and
colleagues shed light on heart valve formation through a combination of
approaches in zebrafish. From their studies, they identify a new step in early
valve formation that is characterised by changes in the shape and
adhesion-marker profile of endocardial cells in the atrioventricular canal
(AVC). These changes fail in sih mutants whose hearts do not
contract, indicating that they depend on the heart's mechanical function. They
also depend on Notch signalling, which the authors show restricts this
differentiation program to the correct cells in the AVC. Further insights are
likely to arise from the large-scale genetic screen also reported here, which
provides a valuable resource for the further dissection of this clinically
important developmental process.
Related articles in Development:
- Genetic and cellular analyses of zebrafish atrioventricular cushion and valve development
- Dimitris Beis, Thomas Bartman, Suk-Won Jin, Ian C. Scott, Leonard A. D'Amico, Elke A. Ober, Heather Verkade, Julie Frantsve, Holly A. Field, Ann Wehman, Herwig Baier, Alexandra Tallafuss, Laure Bally-Cuif, Jau-Nian Chen, Didier Y. R. Stainier, and Benno Jungblut
Development 2005 132: 4193-4204.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
