Chapter 5
Retinoic Acid Signaling and Heart
Development
Eliyahu Perl and Joshua S. Waxman
Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable
– Wizard of Oz.
Abstract As the first organ to form and function in all vertebrates, the heart is
crucial to development. Tightly-regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA) are critical
for the establishment of the regulatory networks that drive normal cardiac development. Thus, the heart is an ideal organ to investigate RA signaling, with much work
remaining to be done in this area. Herein, we highlight the role of RA signaling in
vertebrate heart development and provide an overview of the field’s inception, its
current state, and in what directions it might progress so that it may yield fruitful
insight for therapeutic applications within the domain of regenerative medicine.
Keywords Retinoic acid · Signaling · Cardiac · Heart · Development ·
Embryogenesis · Vertebrates · Zebrafish · Birds · Mammals · Avian · Quail ·
Chick · Atrial-ventricular patterning · Restriction of heart field specification
E. Perl
Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, College of
Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
e-mail: perleu@mail.uc.edu
Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati,
OH 45229, USA
E. Perl · J. S. Waxman (B)
The Heart Institute and Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
e-mail: joshua.waxman@cchmc.org
J. S. Waxman
Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati,
OH 45229, USA
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229,
USA
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. A. Asson-Batres and C. Rochette-Egly (eds.), The Biochemistry of Retinoid
Signaling III, Subcellular Biochemistry 95,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42282-0_5
119
Retinoic Acid Signaling and Heart
Development
Eliyahu Perl and Joshua S. Waxman
Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable
– Wizard of Oz.
Abstract As the first organ to form and function in all vertebrates, the heart is
crucial to development. Tightly-regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA) are critical
for the establishment of the regulatory networks that drive normal cardiac development. Thus, the heart is an ideal organ to investigate RA signaling, with much work
remaining to be done in this area. Herein, we highlight the role of RA signaling in
vertebrate heart development and provide an overview of the field’s inception, its
current state, and in what directions it might progress so that it may yield fruitful
insight for therapeutic applications within the domain of regenerative medicine.
Keywords Retinoic acid · Signaling · Cardiac · Heart · Development ·
Embryogenesis · Vertebrates · Zebrafish · Birds · Mammals · Avian · Quail ·
Chick · Atrial-ventricular patterning · Restriction of heart field specification
E. Perl
Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, College of
Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
e-mail: perleu@mail.uc.edu
Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati,
OH 45229, USA
E. Perl · J. S. Waxman (B)
The Heart Institute and Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
e-mail: joshua.waxman@cchmc.org
J. S. Waxman
Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati,
OH 45229, USA
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229,
USA
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. A. Asson-Batres and C. Rochette-Egly (eds.), The Biochemistry of Retinoid
Signaling III, Subcellular Biochemistry 95,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42282-0_5
119