| First Author | Nagy II | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | Cardiovasc Res | Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 100-9 |
| PubMed ID | 19622544 | Mgi Jnum | J:172560 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5008249 | Doi | 10.1093/cvr/cvp254 |
| Citation | Nagy II, et al. (2010) Wnt-11 signalling controls ventricular myocardium development by patterning N-cadherin and beta-catenin expression. Cardiovasc Res 85(1):100-9 |
| abstractText | AIMS: The stage-dependent organization of the cardiomyocytes during formation of the different layers of the developing ventricular wall is critical for the establishment of a functional heart, but the instructive signals involved are still poorly known. We have addressed the potential role of Wnt-11 in the control of early ventricular myocardium assembly. METHODS AND RESULTS: We demonstrate by means of expression analysis and a mouse model in which Wnt-11 function has been inactivated that Wnt-11 is expressed by the embryonic ventricular cardiomyocytes and serves as one important signal for ventricular wall development. In the absence of Wnt-11, the coordinated organization, intercellular contacts, co-localized expression of the cell adhesion components N-cadherin and beta-catenin, and the cytoskeleton of the differentiating ventricular cardiomyocytes are all disturbed. Moreover, the ventricular wall lacking Wnt-11 signalling is thinner and the expression of the Gata-4, Nkx2.5, Mef2c, ANP, and BNP genes is down-regulated relative to controls. These defects lie behind disturbed embryonic cardiac functional development, marked by an increase in the ventricular relaxation time during the early diastole. CONCLUSION: We conclude that Wnt-11 signalling serves as a critical cell adhesion cue for the organization of the cardiomyocytes in the developing ventricular wall, which is essential for the establishment of a functional heart. |
