Yao Yao, Marra Amanda N, Yelon Deborah
Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. 2021 Jan 29;8(2):13. doi: 10.3390/jcdd8020013.
The vertebrate heart is comprised of two types of chambers-ventricles and atria-that have unique morphological and physiological properties. Effective cardiac function depends upon the distinct characteristics of ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, raising interest in the genetic pathways that regulate chamber-specific traits. Chamber identity seems to be specified in the early embryo by signals that establish ventricular and atrial progenitor populations and trigger distinct differentiation pathways. Intriguingly, chamber-specific features appear to require active reinforcement, even after myocardial differentiation is underway, suggesting plasticity of chamber identity within the developing heart. Here, we review the utility of the zebrafish as a model organism for studying the mechanisms that establish and maintain cardiac chamber identity. By combining genetic and embryological approaches, work in zebrafish has revealed multiple players with potent influences on chamber fate specification and commitment. Going forward, analysis of cardiomyocyte identity at the single-cell level is likely to yield a high-resolution understanding of the pathways that link the relevant players together, and these insights will have the potential to inform future strategies in cardiac tissue engineering.
脊椎动物的心脏由两种类型的腔室——心室和心房组成，它们具有独特的形态和生理特性。有效的心脏功能取决于心室和心房心肌细胞的不同特征，这引发了人们对调节腔室特异性特征的遗传途径的兴趣。腔室身份似乎在胚胎早期由建立心室和心房祖细胞群体并触发不同分化途径的信号所指定。有趣的是，即使在心肌分化开始后，腔室特异性特征似乎也需要积极强化，这表明发育中的心脏内腔室身份具有可塑性。在这里，我们综述了斑马鱼作为研究建立和维持心脏腔室身份机制的模式生物的实用性。通过结合遗传学和胚胎学方法，斑马鱼的研究揭示了多个对腔室命运指定和决定有强大影响的因素。展望未来，在单细胞水平上对心肌细胞身份的分析可能会对将相关因素联系在一起的途径有高分辨率的理解，这些见解有可能为心脏组织工程的未来策略提供信息。
