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Characterization of molecular markers to assess cardiac cushions formation in Xenopus
Author(s) -
Lee YoungHoon,
SaintJeannet JeanPierre
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.22148
Subject(s) - biology , mesenchyme , neural crest , atrioventricular canal , sox10 , xenopus , anatomy , heart development , endocardium , wnt signaling pathway , mesoderm , atrioventricular cushions , lateral plate mesoderm , microbiology and biotechnology , zebrafish , gene , embryonic stem cell , medicine , genetics , embryo , heart disease
The valves and septa of the mature heart are derived from the cardiac cushions, which develop from discrete swellings in two regions of developing heart tube: the atrioventricular (AV) canal and the ventricular outflow tract (OFT). In higher vertebrates, three distinct lineages contribute to the heart valves and septa, the endocardium, the myocardium, and the cardiac neural crest that will populate the cardiac jelly of the OFT. Very little is known about cardiac cushions development in amphibians. Here, we describe the expression of eight genes during key stages of cardiac cushion development in Xenopus. Among these genes, the Wnt antagonist Frzb1 and the transcription factors Xl‐Fli, Sox8, Sox9, and Sox10 are differentially expressed in the mesenchyme of the OFT and AV cushions. These genes can be used in combination with lineage‐tracing experiments to determine the embryonic origin of the cardiac cushions mesenchyme in Xenopus. Developmental Dynamics 238:3257–3265, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.