| First Author | Ward NL | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Dev Dyn | Volume | 229 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 500-9 |
| PubMed ID | 14991706 | Mgi Jnum | J:88848 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3037345 | Doi | 10.1002/dvdy.10479 |
| Citation | Ward NL, et al. (2004) Angiopoietin 1 expression levels in the myocardium direct coronary vessel development. Dev Dyn 229(3):500-9 |
| abstractText | Mutational studies in genetically engineered mice have shown that the angiopoietin/Tie2(Tek) signaling pathway is indispensable for vascular development. To further investigate the role of Angiopoietin 1 in heart development, we developed transgenic mice that express Angiopoietin 1 under control of doxycycline in cardiac myocytes. Ninety percent of all transgenic mice die between embryonic day 12.5 and 15.5. Beginning at embryonic day 12.5, transgenic mice exhibit dilated atria, a significant thinning of the myocardial wall, and eventual outflow tract collapse. In addition, hearts of the most severely affected transgenic embryos have no coronary arteries as a result of the defective development and maintenance of the epicardium. The subsequent lack of blood and nutrient delivery to the developing heart may account for decreases in N-cadherin expression and subsequent loss of cell-cell contact leading to cell death, and ultimately the collapse and hemorrhage of the heart. These results suggest a pivotal role for Angiopoietin 1 in cardiovascular development, specifically the development of the epicardium and coronary vasculature. |
