Biphasic role for Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in cardiac specification in zebrafish and embryonic stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Understanding pathways controlling cardiac development may offer insights that are useful for stem cell-based cardiac repair. Developmental studies indicate that the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway negatively regulates cardiac differentiation, whereas studies with pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cells suggest that this pathway promotes cardiogenesis. This apparent contradiction led us to hypothesize that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling acts biphasically, either promoting or inhibiting cardiogenesis depending on timing. We used inducible promoters to activate or repress Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in zebrafish embryos at different times of development. We found that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling before gastrulation promotes cardiac differentiation, whereas signaling during gastrulation inhibits heart forma

SUBMITTER: Ueno S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1876428 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature