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En Face Endocardial Cushion Preparation for Planar Morphogenesis Analysis in Mouse Embryos
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Oriented clonal cell growth in the developing mouse myocardium underlies cardiac morphogenesis.
Sigolène M Meilhac1, Milan Esner, Michel Kerszberg
1Département de Biologie du Développement, Institut Pasteur, 28 Rue de Dr. Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
The Journal of Cell Biology
|January 8, 2004
Summary
Myocardial cells grow in an oriented manner during heart development, shaping cardiac chambers. This directed cell growth is crucial for forming the polarized and regionalized heart tissue from its earliest stages.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cardiovascular Research
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Heart chamber formation involves differential expansion of the primitive cardiac tube.
- Transcription factors like Tbx5 and dHAND regulate this complex process.
- Understanding cellular mechanisms is key to deciphering cardiogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying cardiac chamber morphogenesis.
- To analyze the clonal growth patterns of myocardial cells during heart development.
- To identify the role of oriented cell growth in forming the heart's structure.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a retrospective clonal analysis approach.
- Employed a reporter gene (nlaacZ) targeted to the murine alpha-cardiac actin locus.
- Tracked myocardial cell growth from embryonic day (E) 8.5 to E14.5.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that myocardial cell clonal growth is oriented and region-specific.
- Observed that clone shape at E10.5 reflects the morphology of specific cardiac regions.
- Identified maintained and modulated clonal orientation after septation at E14.5.
- Revealed new myocardial subdivisions, including an interventricular boundary region.
Conclusions:
- The myocardium is a polarized and regionalized tissue from its initial formation.
- Oriented clonal cell growth plays a significant role in cardiac chamber morphogenesis.
- This study provides insights into the cellular basis of heart development and regionalization.
