Bending and twisting the embryonic heart: a computational model for c-looping based on realistic geometry.

ABSTRACT: The morphogenetic process of cardiac looping transforms the straight heart tube into a curved tube that resembles the shape of the future four-chambered heart. Although great progress has been made in identifying the molecular and genetic factors involved in looping, the physical mechanisms that drive this process have remained poorly understood. Recent work, however, has shed new light on this complicated problem. After briefly reviewing the current state of knowledge, we propose a relatively comprehensive hypothesis for the mechanics of the first phase of looping, termed c-looping, as the straight heart tube deforms into a c-shaped tube. According to this hypothesis, differential hypertrophic growth in the myocardium supplies the main forces that cause the heart tube to bend ventrally, w

SUBMITTER: Shi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4129494 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature