Myocardial Bmp2 overexpression leads to ectopic cardiac EMT and promotes chamber cardiomyocyte proliferation and immaturity
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ABSTRACT: Defective valve and septa formation constitute a substantial part of congenital heart defects affecting the neonate or the adult. During cardiac development, restricted myocardial Bmp2 expression is a key signal for the specification and patterning of the valve-forming field in the atrio-ventricular canal (AVC) region and the initiation of the epithelial-mesenchyme transition (EMT) that gives rise to the valve primordia. We have generated a mouse transgenic line conditionally expressing Bmp2. Nkx2.5Cre-driven Bmp2 overexpression in the myocardium leads to foetal lethality, due to valve and chamber dysmorphogenesis, and rescue of the AVC specification defect of Bmp2-null embryos. Nkx2.5Cre/+;Bmp2tg/+ transgenic embryos show ventricular septal defect, thickened valves, enlarged trabeculae and dilated ventricles, whose endocardium is able to undergo EMT when explanted onto collagen gels. Gene profile and marker analysis indicates that cellular proliferation is increased and chamber differentiation and patterning is impaired in Nkx2.5Cre/+;Bmp2tg/+ embryos, but the ventricular-specific gene expression program is not abolished. We obtained similar results using a second myocardial driver (cTnTCre) to activate Bmp2 expression, but not with an endothelial-specific one (Tie2Cre), as Tie2Cre/+;Bmp2tg/+ mice are normal and survive to adulthood, indicating that Bmp2 must emanate from the myocardium to exert its EMT-driving and cardiomyocyte maturation blocking effect. Forced Bmp2 expression in vitro stimulates EBs proliferation and blocks their progression into cardiomyogenesis, an effect partially rescued by Noggin. These data show that widespread myocardial Bmp2 expression directs ectopic valve primordium formation and maintains chamber myocardium and early cardiac progenitors in a primitive, proliferative state, identifying Bmp2 as a potential factor for the expansion of immature cardiomyocytes.
ORGANISM(S): Mus
PROVIDER: GSE100810 | GEO | 2018/04/11
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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