Canonical Wnt5b Signaling Directs Outlying Nkx2.5+ Mesoderm into Pacemaker Cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT: Pacemaker cardiomyocytes that create the sinoatrial node are essential for the initiation and maintenance of proper heart rhythm. However, illuminating developmental cues that direct their differentiation has remained particularly challenging due to the unclear cellular origins of these specialized cardiomyocytes. By discovering the origins of pacemaker cardiomyocytes, we reveal an evolutionarily conserved Wnt signaling mechanism that coordinates gene regulatory changes directing mesoderm cell fate decisions, which lead to the differentiation of pacemaker cardiomyocytes. We show that in zebrafish, pacemaker cardiomyocytes derive from a subset of Nkx2.5+ mesoderm that responds to canonical Wnt5b signaling to initiate the cardiac pacemaker program, including activation of pacemaker cell diff

SUBMITTER: Ren J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6759400 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature