T-box factors: Insights into the evolutionary emergence of the complex heart

Fadi Hariri, Mona Nemer, Georges Nemer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The heart as a functional organ first appeared in bilaterians as a single peristaltic pump and evolved through arthropods, fish, amphibians, and finally mammals into a four-chambered engine controlling blood-flow within the body. The acquisition of cardiac complexity in the evolving heart was a product of gene duplication events and the co-option of novel signaling pathways to an ancestral cardiac-specific gene network. T-box factors belong to an evolutionary conserved family of transcriptional regulators with diverse roles in development. Their regulatory functions are integral in the initiation and potentiation of heart development, and mutations in these genes are associated with congenital heart defects. In this review we will discuss the evolutionary conserved cardiac regulatory functions of this family as well as their implication in disease in an aim to facilitate future gene-targeted and regenerative therapeutic remedies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)680-693
Number of pages14
JournalAnnals of Medicine
Volume44
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Congenital heart disease
  • Evolution
  • Heart development
  • T-box genes

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