Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Guzzo, Rosa M.
• Foley, Ann C.
• Ibarra, Yessenia M.
• Mercola, Mark

Titel

Signaling Pathways in Embryonic Heart Induction

Ist Teil von

• Advances in Developmental Biology, 2007, Vol.18, p.117-151

Ort / Verlag

The Netherlands: Elsevier Science & Technology

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Link zum Volltext

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• It is well established that the heart has only a limited ability to repair damage caused by heart disease. However, the observation that human embryonic stem (ES) cells differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes raises the possibility that these cells may be used to regenerate damaged cardiac tissue. Unfortunately, limited progress has been made in developing protocols for the efficient differentiation of human ES cells into ventricular cardiomyocytes. Studies in various animal models have provided significant insights into the signaling molecules that are necessary for heart induction, making it clear that both the spatial and temporal activation and suppression of defined signaling pathways are critical for the development of the myocardial cells in both embryos and ES cell cultures. We propose that there are at least four distinct steps that lead to the development of cardiac lineages in the embryo, namely: (1) establishment of organizing centers, (2) mesendoderm induction, (3) establishment of cardiac precursors, and (4) terminal differentiation of beating cardiomyocytes. Here, we provide a description of each stage, the signaling pathways that dominate each stage and present evidence that those signaling pathways also govern cardiac differentiation in ES cell models. Further identification of soluble growth factors and signaling cascades that promote heart formation is of great importance for an improved understanding of cardiac development and function and may reveal new paradigms for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.