scholarly journals Reiterative Mechanisms of Retinoic Acid Signaling during Vertebrate Heart Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliyahu Perl ◽  
Joshua S. Waxman

Tightly-regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA) are critical for promoting normal vertebrate development. The extensive history of research on RA has shown that its proper regulation is essential for cardiac progenitor specification and organogenesis. Here, we discuss the roles of RA signaling and its establishment of networks that drive both early and later steps of normal vertebrate heart development. We focus on studies that highlight the drastic effects alternative levels of RA have on early cardiomyocyte (CM) specification and cardiac chamber morphogenesis, consequences of improper RA synthesis and degradation, and known effectors downstream of RA. We conclude with the implications of these findings to our understanding of cardiac regeneration and the etiologies of congenital heart defects.

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Patrick Devine ◽  
Joshua D Wythe ◽  
Matthew George ◽  
Kazuko Koshiba-Takeuchi ◽  
Benoit G Bruneau

Mammalian heart development requires precise allocation of cardiac progenitors. The existence of a multipotent progenitor for all anatomic and cellular components of the heart has been predicted but its identity and contribution to the two cardiac progenitor ‘fields’ has remained undefined. Here we show, using clonal genetic fate mapping, that Mesp1+ cells in gastrulating mesoderm are rapidly specified into committed cardiac precursors fated for distinct anatomic regions of the heart. We identify Smarcd3 as a marker of early specified cardiac precursors and identify within these precursors a compartment boundary at the future junction of the left and right ventricles that arises prior to morphogenesis. Our studies define the timing and hierarchy of cardiac progenitor specification and demonstrate that the cellular and anatomical fate of mesoderm-derived cardiac cells is specified very early. These findings will be important to understand the basis of congenital heart defects and to derive cardiac regeneration strategies.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (16) ◽  
pp. 7179-7187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartholomew A. Pederson ◽  
Hanying Chen ◽  
Jill M. Schroeder ◽  
Weinian Shou ◽  
Anna A. DePaoli-Roach ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Glycogen serves as a repository of glucose in many mammalian tissues. Mice lacking this glucose reserve in muscle, heart, and several other tissues were generated by disruption of the GYS1 gene, which encodes an isoform of glycogen synthase. Crossing mice heterozygous for the GYS1 disruption resulted in a significant underrepresentation of GYS1-null mice in the offspring. Timed matings established that Mendelian inheritance was followed for up to 18.5 days postcoitum (dpc) and that ∼90% of GYS1-null animals died soon after birth due to impaired cardiac function. Defects in cardiac development began between 11.5 and 14.5 dpc. At 18.5 dpc, the hearts were significantly smaller, with reduced ventricular chamber size and enlarged atria. Consistent with impaired cardiac function, edema, pooling of blood, and hemorrhagic liver were seen. Glycogen synthase and glycogen were undetectable in cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle from the surviving null mice, and the hearts showed normal morphology and function. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common birth defects in humans, at up to 1 in 50 live births. The results provide the first direct evidence that the ability to synthesize glycogen in cardiac muscle is critical for normal heart development and hence that its impairment could be a significant contributor to congenital heart defects.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 827
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Martin ◽  
D Woodrow Benson

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are malformations present at birth that occur during heart development. Increasing evidence supports a genetic origin of CHD, but in the process important challenges have been identified. This review begins with information about CHD and the importance of detailed phenotyping of study subjects. To facilitate appropriate genetic study design, we review DNA structure, genetic variation in the human genome and tools to identify the genetic variation of interest. Analytic approaches powered for both common and rare variants are assessed. While the ideal outcome of genetic studies is to identify variants that have a causal role, a more realistic goal for genetic analytics is to identify variants in specific genes that influence the occurrence of a phenotype and which provide keys to open biologic doors that inform how the genetic variants modulate heart development. It has never been truer that good genetic studies start with good planning. Continued progress in unraveling the genetic underpinnings of CHD will require multidisciplinary collaboration between geneticists, quantitative scientists, clinicians, and developmental biologists.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Ferdousi Hossain Poly ◽  
Syeda Afroza ◽  
Hasanur Rahman ◽  
Md Imran Hassan

A congenital heart defect is a heart problem which is present at birth, caused by improper development of the heart during fetal development. In majority of cases there is no known reason for the heart to develop improperly. Some type of congenital heart defects are related to chromosomal abnormality(5-6%), some are to single gene defect(3-5%) or environmental factors(2%). In 85-90% of cases there is no identifiable cause and are generally considered to be caused by multifactorial inheritance. There are some maternal factors which have some role in cardiovascular malformations. These include high maternal age(above 30 years), maternal obesity, consanguinity among the parents, fever during pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus, smoking, alcohol consumption, ingestion of any teratogenic drug including homeopathy and herbal medicine. Objective of the study: To evaluate the risk factors associated with congenital heart disease. Methodology: A case control study was conducted at paediatric department of Sir Salimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital following approval of the protocol from 1st January 2013 to 30th June 2014. Children fulfilling the inclusion criteria-(0-5 year old children of both sexes admitted in paediatric units of Mitford Hospital with any type of congenital heart disease confirmed by echocardiography) were considered as cases. A similar number of age and sex matched children admitted in Mitford Hospital without any cardiac defect were considered as controls. Data were collected by questionnaire. Results: The results show that majority of the cases are male. Maternal age (27.09 ± 4.63) and BMI (24.10 ± 2.28) both are significantly higher in cases than those of controls. Among the cases 31.8% mothers had consanguineous marriage (p=0.001) and 27.1% mothers had history of fever during pregnancy whereas it was present in 9.3% mothers of controls, the difference is significant statistically (p=0.001). Among the cases 34.6% mothers had history of gestational diabetes mellitus and only 18.9% controls had so and the difference is significant statistically (p=0.014). Conclusion: Relatively old age and more weight during pregnancy, consanguinity between parents, fever during pregnancy, history of gestational diabetes mellitus are the main risk factors of congenital heart defects in children J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 27, No.1, April, 2018, Page 51-56


Author(s):  
Shun Yan ◽  
Jin Lu ◽  
Kai Jiao

The cardiac neural crest cells (cNCCs) is a transient, migratory cell population that contribute to the formation of major arteries and the septa and valves of the heart. Abnormal development of cNCCs leads to a spectrum of congenital heart defects that mainly affect the outflow region of the hearts. Signaling molecules and transcription factors are the best studied regulatory events controlling cNCC development. In recent years, however, accumulated evidence supports that epigenetic regulation also plays an important role in cNCC development. Here, we summarize the functions of epigenetic regulators during cNCC development as well as cNCC related cardiovascular defects. These factors include ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factors, histone modifiers and DNA methylation modulators. In many cases, mutations in the genes encoding these factors are known to cause inborn heart diseases. A better understanding of epigenetic regulators, their activities and their roles during heart development will ultimately contribute to the development of new clinical applications for patients with congenital heart disease.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 977-983
Author(s):  
Cynthia D. Morris ◽  
Jacquelyn Outcalt ◽  
Victor D. Menashe

Advances in surgical treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome with the Norwood procedure and cardiac transplantation have made essential the understanding of the natural history of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. In a geographically defined population, we ascertained the prevalence of hypoplastic left heart syndrome in children born in Oregon from 1971 through 1986. Clinical and anatomic data were extracted from the charts of the 98 affected children and the survival rate was calculated. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome occurred in 0.162 per 1000 live births in Oregon during this period. No syndrome complex was prevalent and 84% were free of other congenital malformations. However, there was an increased occurrence of congenital heart defects in first-degree relatives of probands with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Of the affected children 15 ± 4% died on the first day of life, 70 ± 5% died within the first week, and 91 ± 3% died within 30 days. No secular change in survival occurred during the study. Palliation with the Norwood procedure was performed in 20 children. Although survival was significantly improved with this surgery (P = .01), the effect was observed principally through 30 days of life and only one of these children remains alive. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a lethal congenital heart defect in children and poses management and ethical dilemmas.


Antioxidants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Engineer ◽  
Saiyin ◽  
Greco ◽  
Feng

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most prevalent and serious birth defect, occurring in 1% of all live births. Pregestational maternal diabetes is a known risk factor for the development of CHDs, elevating the risk in the child by more than four-fold. As the prevalence of diabetes rapidly rises among women of childbearing age, there is a need to investigate the mechanisms and potential preventative strategies for these defects. In experimental animal models of pregestational diabetes induced-CHDs, upwards of 50% of offspring display congenital malformations of the heart, including septal, valvular, and outflow tract defects. Specifically, the imbalance of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling is a major driver of the development of CHDs in offspring of mice with pregestational diabetes. NO from endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is crucial to cardiogenesis, regulating various cellular and molecular processes. In fact, deficiency in eNOS results in CHDs and coronary artery malformation. Embryonic hearts from diabetic dams exhibit eNOS uncoupling and oxidative stress. Maternal treatment with sapropterin, a cofactor of eNOS, and antioxidants such as N-acetylcysteine, vitamin E, and glutathione as well as maternal exercise have been shown to improve eNOS function, reduce oxidative stress, and lower the incidence CHDs in the offspring of mice with pregestational diabetes. This review summarizes recent data on pregestational diabetes-induced CHDs, and offers insights into the important roles of NO and ROS in embryonic heart development and pathogenesis of CHDs in maternal diabetes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami Halabi ◽  
Paula B. Cechmanek ◽  
Carrie L. Hehr ◽  
Sarah McFarlane

During development a pool of precursors form a heart with atrial and ventricular chambers that exhibit distinct transcriptional and electrophysiological properties. Normal development of these chambers is essential for full term survival of the fetus, and deviations result in congenital heart defects. The large number of genes that may cause congenital heart defects when mutated, and the genetic variability and penetrance of the ensuing phenotypes, reveals a need to understand the molecular mechanisms that allow for the formation of chamber-specific cardiomyocyte differentiation. We find that in the developing zebrafish heart, mRNA for a secreted Semaphorin (Sema), Sema3fb, is expressed by all cardiomyocytes, whereas mRNA for its receptor Plexina3 (Plxna3) is expressed by ventricular cardiomyocytes. In sema3fb CRISPR zebrafish mutants, ventricular chamber development is impaired; the ventricles of mutants are smaller in size than their wild type siblings, apparently because of differences in cell size and not cell numbers, with ventricular cardiomyocytes failing to undergo normal developmental hypertrophy. Analysis of chamber differentiation indicates defects in chamber specific gene expression at the border between the ventricular and atrial chambers, with spillage of ventricular chamber genes into the atrium, and vice versa, and a failure to restrict bmp4a mRNA to the atrioventricular canal. The disrupted atrioventricular border region in mutants is accompanied by hypoplastic heart chambers and impaired cardiac function. These data suggest a model whereby cardiomyocytes secrete a Sema cue that, through spatially restricted expression of the receptor, signals in a ventricular chamber-specific manner to establish a distinct border between atrial and ventricular chambers that is important for functional development of the heart.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Bahado-Singh ◽  
Samet Albayrak ◽  
Rita Zafra ◽  
Alosh Baraa ◽  
Avinash M Veerappa ◽  
...  

AbstractVentricular Septal Defect (VSD), the most common congenital heart defect, is characterized by a hole in the septum between the right and left ventricles. The pathogenesis of VSD is unknown in most clinical cases. There is a paucity of data relevant to epigenetic changes in VSD. The placenta is a fetal tissue and is a potentially useful surrogate for the evaluation of fetal organ development. To understand epigenetic mechanisms that may play a role in the development of VSD, a genome-wide DNA methylation assay of the placentas of 8 term subjects with isolated VSD and no known or suspected genetic syndromes and 10 normal controls was performed using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip assay. The study identified a total of 80 highly accurate potential epigenomic markers in 80 genes for the detection of VSD; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC) = 1.0 with significant 95% CI (FDR) p-values < 0.05. The biological processes and functions for these differentially methylated genes are known to be associated with heart development or heart disease, including cardiac ventricle development (HEY2, ISL1), heart looping (SRF), cardiac muscle cell differentiation (ACTC1, HEY2), cardiac septum development (ISL1), heart morphogenesis (SRF, HEY2, ISL1, HEYL), Notch signaling pathway (HEY2, HEYL), cardiac chamber development (ISL1), and cardiac muscle tissue development (ACTC1, ISL1). The study also identified eight microRNA genes that have the potential to be biomarkers for the early detection of VSD including miR-191, miR-548F1, miR-148A, miR-423, miR-92B, miR-611, miR-2110, and miR-548H4. To our knowledge this is the first report in which placental analysis has been used for determining the pathogenesis of and predicting CHD.


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