ABSTRACT
Heart development involves a wondrous and precisely orchestrated series of molecular and morphogenic events, and even subtle perturbation of this process can have catastrophic consequences in the form of congenital heart disease. Many details of the morphological formation of the heart are known; however, many of the molecules and mechanisms that regulate heart development and growth are still being elucidated. Identification of the genes that orchestrate heart formation is a necessary prerequisite for development of therapeutic strategies for cardiac repair and regeneration in the settings of congenital and acquired cardiovascular diseases. Over the past few decades, hearts of fruit flies, zebrafish, tadpoles, chicken and mice have served as model systems to elucidate the signaling factors involved in heart formation (Fig. 1.1). Strikingly, although the Drosophila ‘heart’ is a simple linear tubular structure and the vertebrate heart is a multichamber complex organ, many of
the transcription factors that regulate heart development are evolutionarily conserved. Based on morphological, biochemical and genetic information garnered from various organisms, a clear picture of the mechanisms of heart development is starting to emerge. This chapter highlights some of the transcription factors and mechanisms involved in heart formation, starting at commitment of a mesodermal precursor cell to a cardiac cell lineage onto heart chamber maturation. Elucidation of the mechanisms governing heart development will provide necessary information to understand the intricacies of heart formation in humans, and offers critical contributions to the design of therapeutics to combat congenital and adult heart disease.
