Role of Hand1/eHAND in the dorso-ventral patterning and interventricular septum formation in the embryonic heart

Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Jun;24(11):4627-35. doi: 10.1128/MCB.24.11.4627-4635.2004.

Abstract

Molecular mechanisms for the dorso-ventral patterning and interventricular septum formation in the embryonic heart are unknown. To investigate a role of Hand1/eHAND in cardiac chamber formation, we generated Hand1/eHAND knock-in mice where Hand1/eHAND cDNA was placed under the control of the MLC2V promoter. In Hand1/eHAND knock-in mice, the outer curvature of the right and left ventricles expanded more markedly. Moreover, there was no interventricular groove or septum formation, although molecularly, Hand1/eHAND knock-in hearts had two ventricles. However, the morphology of the inner curvature of the ventricles, the atrioventricular canal, and the outflow tract was not affected by Hand1/eHAND expression. Furthermore, expression of Hand1/eHAND in the whole ventricles altered the expression patterns of Chisel, ANF, and Hand2/dHAND but did not affect Tbx5 expression. In contrast, the interventricular septum formed normally in transgenic embryos overexpressing Hand1/eHAND in the right ventricle but not in the boundary region. These results suggested that Hand1/eHAND is involved in expansion of the ventricular walls and that absence of Hand1/eHAND expression in the boundary region between the right and left ventricles may be critical in the proper formation of the interventricular groove and septum. Furthermore, Hand1/eHAND is not a master regulatory gene that specifies the left ventricle myocyte lineage but may control the dorso-ventral patterning in concert with additional genes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
  • Body Patterning / genetics
  • Body Patterning / physiology*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Heart Septum / embryology*
  • Heart Septum / metabolism
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Hand1 protein, mouse
  • Transcription Factors
  • helix-loop-helix protein, eHAND