| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3907502 | Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology | 2016 | 11 Pages |
•A plethora of progenitor cells participate in the formation of the human heart. These cells are derived from the three sources: the mesoderm, the proepicardium and neural crest cells.•Disturbances in the signaling pathways and transcription factors regulating heart progenitor cell specification, migration, and differentiation cause congenital heart disease.•Further characterization of fetal heart progenitor cells is needed in order to provide the basis for understanding the dynamics of specific congenital heart disease as well as the means of developing therapy for heart failure.•The definitive proof of the existence of endogenous stem and progenitor cells in the adult heart would be of great value in the cardiac regenerative field.
The human fetal heart is formed early during embryogenesis as a result of cell migrations, differentiation, and formative blood flow. It begins to beat around gestation day 22. Progenitor cells are derived from mesoderm (endocardium and myocardium), proepicardium (epicardium and coronary vessels), and neural crest (heart valves, outflow tract septation, and parasympathetic innervation). A variety of molecular disturbances in the factors regulating the specification and differentiation of these cells can cause congenital heart disease. This review explores the contribution of different cardiac progenitors to the embryonic heart development; the pathways and transcription factors guiding their expansion, migration, and functional differentiation; and the endogenous regenerative capacity of the adult heart including the plasticity of cardiomyocytes. Unfolding these mechanisms will become the basis for understanding the dynamics of specific congenital heart disease as well as a means to develop therapy for fetal as well as postnatal cardiac defects and heart failure.
