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First published online April 24, 2009

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Sh(h)aping the heart's blueprint

Malformations of the atrial septum, which separates the two heart atria, are common human congenital heart defects, but the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate septation are unknown. On p. 1761, Ivan Moskowitz and co-workers investigate the relationship between cardiac progenitor (CP) specification and atrial septation in mice and find that sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling specifies CPs for the septum outside of the atrium. The researchers report that hedgehog (Hh) signalling specifically marks CPs for the atrial septum and pulmonary artery and show, using genetic inducible fate mapping, that Hh-receiving CPs migrate from the second heart field into the atrium. CPs made unresponsive to Hh signalling migrate normally into the atrium, but populate the atrial walls rather than the septum. Conversely, constitutively activating Hh signalling leads to an enlarged septum. These findings indicate that Hh-mediated CP subspecification establishes a blueprint for septation. Finally, by demonstrating that removing Shh from pulmonary endoderm causes septal defects, the authors implicate respiratory tissue in cardiac patterning, and propose that cardiac septa and the respiratory apparatus might have co-evolved.

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Related articles in Development:

sonic hedgehog is required in pulmonary endoderm for atrial septation

Andrew D. Hoffmann, Michael A. Peterson, Joshua M. Friedland-Little, Stuart A. Anderson, and Ivan P. Moskowitz
Development 2009 136: 1761-1770. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?