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Examining the Cardiac NK-2 Genes in Early Heart Development

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Abstract

The cardiac NK-2 transcription factors are the vertebrate relatives of the Drosophila tinman gene. Without the Drosophila tinman gene, fruit flies fail to form their heart (“dorsal vessel”), and mutations or altered expression of cardiac NK-2 genes may lead to abnormal heart formation in vertebrates. Although the cardiac NK-2 gene NKX2-5 is recognized as an important factor in cases of human congenital heart disease and heart development in vertebrates, the roles of the other cardiac NK-2 genes are less clear. This report reviews what is known about the cardiac NK-2 genes in cardiac development, comparing studies in several different model systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the members of their laboratories and the American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-ALW VIDI) for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Bowen Science Building, 51 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Heather Bartlett

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Gert Jan C. Veenstra

  3. Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa, Bowen Science Building, 51 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Daniel L. Weeks

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  1. Heather Bartlett
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  2. Gert Jan C. Veenstra
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  3. Daniel L. Weeks
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Correspondence to Daniel L. Weeks.

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Bartlett, H., Veenstra, G.J.C. & Weeks, D.L. Examining the Cardiac NK-2 Genes in Early Heart Development. Pediatr Cardiol 31, 335–341 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-009-9605-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-009-9605-0

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