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E. Perl and J. S. Waxman
Abbreviations
ALPM Anterior Lateral Plate Mesoderm
A-P
Anterior-Posterior
ASD
Atrial Septal Defect
AVSD Atrioventricular Septal Defect
ATRA All-trans Retinoic Acid
CHD Congenital Heart Disease
CM
Cardiomyocytes
DGS
DiGeorge syndrome
DORV Double Outlet Right Ventricle
EMT Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
FHF
First Heart Field
KO
Knock Out
OFT
Outflow Tract
PTA
Persistent Truncus Arteriosus
RA
Retinoic Acid
RAR
Retinoid Acid Receptor
RARE Retinoic Acid Response Elements
RXR
Retinoid X Receptor
SHF
Second Heart Field
TGA
Transposition of the great arteries
VA
Vitamin A
VAD
Vitamin A Deficiency
VSD
Ventricular Septal Defect
Introduction
Normal heart development is essential for proper formation of many developing
organs and the long-term survival of an embryo. The heart is the first organ to function in all vertebrates, emphasizing the crucial need to disperse nutrients and trophic
factors to many other tissues during development. We now recognize that the importance of heart function to embryogenesis is paralleled by the complexity of heart
development.
In mammals, the maternal delivery of Vitamin A (VA, AKA retinol), is vital for
proper embryonic development (Quadro et al. 2005; Kim et al. 2008). Consequently,
VA deficiency (VAD) has been shown to result in a variety of severe congenital abnormalities, including heart defects (Wilson and Warkany 1950a; Wilson et al. 1953).
Moreover, tightly-regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA), the major active metabolite
of VA are critical for normal cardiac development in all vertebrates (D’Aniello and
Waxman 2015; Stefanovic and Zaffran 2017).
E. Perl and J. S. Waxman
Abbreviations
ALPM Anterior Lateral Plate Mesoderm
A-P
Anterior-Posterior
ASD
Atrial Septal Defect
AVSD Atrioventricular Septal Defect
ATRA All-trans Retinoic Acid
CHD Congenital Heart Disease
CM
Cardiomyocytes
DGS
DiGeorge syndrome
DORV Double Outlet Right Ventricle
EMT Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
FHF
First Heart Field
KO
Knock Out
OFT
Outflow Tract
PTA
Persistent Truncus Arteriosus
RA
Retinoic Acid
RAR
Retinoid Acid Receptor
RARE Retinoic Acid Response Elements
RXR
Retinoid X Receptor
SHF
Second Heart Field
TGA
Transposition of the great arteries
VA
Vitamin A
VAD
Vitamin A Deficiency
VSD
Ventricular Septal Defect
Introduction
Normal heart development is essential for proper formation of many developing
organs and the long-term survival of an embryo. The heart is the first organ to function in all vertebrates, emphasizing the crucial need to disperse nutrients and trophic
factors to many other tissues during development. We now recognize that the importance of heart function to embryogenesis is paralleled by the complexity of heart
development.
In mammals, the maternal delivery of Vitamin A (VA, AKA retinol), is vital for
proper embryonic development (Quadro et al. 2005; Kim et al. 2008). Consequently,
VA deficiency (VAD) has been shown to result in a variety of severe congenital abnormalities, including heart defects (Wilson and Warkany 1950a; Wilson et al. 1953).
Moreover, tightly-regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA), the major active metabolite
of VA are critical for normal cardiac development in all vertebrates (D’Aniello and
Waxman 2015; Stefanovic and Zaffran 2017).
