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Updated: Mar 7, 2026
In Vitro Generation of Heart Field-specific Cardiac Progenitor Cells
Published on: July 3, 2019
Foxa2 identifies a cardiac progenitor population with ventricular differentiation potential
Evan Bardot1,2,3, Damelys Calderon1,2,3, Francis Santoriello1,2,3
1Department of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Box 1040, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10029, USA.
Insights
Researchers identified a novel progenitor cell population crucial for ventricular heart development. These Foxa2-expressing cells, specified during gastrulation, offer new insights into cardiac chamber formation and stem cell therapies.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Cardiac development involves progenitor cells contributing spatially and temporally.
- Mechanisms of atrial versus ventricular specification are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify progenitor populations directing cardiac chamber specification.
- Investigate the role of Foxa2 in cardiac development.
Main Methods:
- Identification and characterization of progenitor populations during gastrulation.
- Analysis of gene expression, including Foxa2.
- Tracing progenitor contribution to differentiated heart cells.
- Studying analogous populations during embryonic stem cell differentiation.
Main Results:
- A progenitor population primarily generating ventricular cells (<5% atrial cells) was identified.
- These progenitors transiently express Foxa2 during gastrulation.
- Foxa2+ cells integrate into known progenitor populations with specific patterns.
- An analogous Foxa2+ population was observed during embryonic stem cell differentiation.
Conclusions:
- Foxa2+ progenitors are key to ventricular development.
- Findings elucidate the developmental origins of atrial and ventricular cells.
- Potential for new strategies in generating chamber-specific cells from pluripotent stem cells.
Abstract:
The recent identification of progenitor populations that contribute to the developing heart in a distinct spatial and temporal manner has fundamentally improved our understanding of cardiac development. However, the mechanisms that direct atrial versus ventricular specification remain largely unknown. Here we report the identification of a progenitor population that gives rise primarily to cardiovascular cells of the ventricles and only to few atrial cells (<5%) of the differentiated heart. These progenitors are specified during gastrulation, when they transiently express Foxa2, a gene not previously implicated in cardiac development. Importantly, Foxa2+ cells contribute to previously identified progenitor populations in a defined pattern and ratio. Lastly, we describe an analogous Foxa2+ population during differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Together, these findings provide insight into the developmental origin of ventricular and atrial cells, and may lead to the establishment of new strategies for generating chamber-specific cell types from pluripotent stem cells.
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