In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 6 ( 2017-03-08)
Abstract:
As an animal embryo develops, it establishes a circulatory system that includes the heart, vessels and blood. Vessels and blood initially form in the yolk sac, a membrane that surrounds the embryo. These yolk sac vessels act as a rudimentary circulatory system, connecting to the heart and blood vessels within the embryo itself. In older embryos, cells in the inner layer of the largest blood vessel (known as the dorsal aorta) generate blood stem cells that give rise to the different types of blood cells. A gene called Nkx2.5 encodes a protein that controls the activity of a number of complex genetic programs and has been long studied as a key player in the development of the heart. Nkx2.5 is essential for forming normal heart muscle cells and for shaping the primitive heart and its surrounding vessels into a working organ. Interfering with the normal activity of the Nkx2.5 gene results in severe defects in blood vessels and the heart. However, many details are missing on the role played by Nkx2.5 in specifying the different cellular components of the circulatory system and heart. Zamir et al. genetically engineered chick and mouse embryos to produce fluorescent markers that could be used to trace the cells that become part of blood vessels and heart. The experiments found that some of the cells that form the blood and vessels in the yolk sac originate from within the membranes surrounding the embryo, outside of the areas previously reported to give rise to the heart. The Nkx2.5 gene is active in these cells for only a short period of time as they migrate toward the heart and dorsal aorta, where they give rise to blood stem cells These findings suggest that Nkx2.5 plays an important role in triggering developmental processes that eventually give rise to blood vessels and blood cells. The next step following on from this work will be to find out what genes the protein encoded by Nkx2.5 regulates to drive these processes. Mapping the genes that control the early origins of blood and blood-forming vessels will help biologists understand this complex and vital tissue system, and develop new treatments for patients with conditions that affect their circulatory system. In the future, this knowledge may also help to engineer synthetic blood and blood products for use in trauma and genetic diseases.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.026
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.027
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.028
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.029
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.034
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.20994.035
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2017
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
Permalink