INEB RECENT PUBLICATIONS: “Building and Repairing the Heart: What Can We Learn from Embryonic Development?"

INEB researchers recently published an article in the BioMed Research International, available since 17 April 2014.

Title: Building and Repairing the Heart: What Can We Learn from Embryonic Development?

Authors: Freire AG, Resende TP and Pinto-do-Ó P.

Heart formation is tightly regulated by an intricate signaling network. Many aspects of this network have been uncovered not only due to advances in cardiac development comprehension but also due to the use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in vitro model system. Additionally, several of these pathways have been shown to be functional or reactivated in the setting of cardiac disease. Knowledge withdrawn from studying heart development, ESCs differentiation, and cardiac pathophysiology may be helpful to envisage new strategies for improved cardiac repair/regeneration. In this review, we provide a comparative synopsis of the major signaling pathways required for cardiac lineage commitment in the embryo and murine ESCs. We also discuss the involvement and possible reactivation of these pathways following heart injury.