Source: University of Southern California
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California have identified a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation—a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
Heart tissue forms in two distinct phases known as the First Heart Field, which includes the left ventricle and portions of both atrial chambers, and the Second Heart Field (SHF), which consists of the right ventricle and outflow tract. In humans, the process occurs within the fourth week of development. Using animal models, Keck School of Medicine researchers found that retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of vitamin A, regulates the SHF tissue formation and the septation, or division, of the outflow tract into the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery. The study appears in the March 16 issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
