Determinants of Cardiac Growth and Size

Within the realm of zoological study, the question of how an organism reaches a specific size has been largely unexplored. Recently, studies performed to understand the regulation of organ size have revealed that both cellular signals and external cues contribute toward the determination of total cell mass within each organ. The establishment of final organ size requires the precise coordination of cell growth, proliferation, and survival throughout development and postnatal life. In the mammalian heart, the regulation of size is biphasic. During development, cardiomyocyte proliferation predominantly determines cardiac growth, whereas in the adult heart, total cell mass is governed by signals that regulate cardiac hypertrophy. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the extrinsic factors and intrinsic mechanisms that control heart size during development. We also discuss the metabolic switch that occurs in the heart after birth and precedes homeostatic control of postnatal heart size.