Washington: Scientists have discovered natural triggers that could reduce the chance of life-threatening, congenital heart defects among newborns.
Those triggers can override developmental, biological miscues, leading to proper embryonic heart and valve formation, researchers said.
"The heart is the first organ to form in the embryo. It morphs dynamically and rapidly all the while pumping nutrients to the developing body," said senior author Jonathan Butcher, associate professor at Cornell University in US.
The early embryonic heart originates as a looped tube, without valves or pumping chambers. During the last few weeks of the first trimester, these heart chambers form, but need something to maintain one-way blood flow.
"Wispy globular masses (called cushions because of their shape in the heart wall) need to condense and elongate to form thin robust leaflets capable of fast and resilient opening and closing," Butcher said.
"It is this maturation process that's likely disrupted in many clinical cases," he said. Until this study, scientists did not know how mechanical forces drove the biological remodelling of cushions into valves.
Scientists understood that the embryonic heart needed blood flow to grow, but the valve component's role was not entirely understood, Butcher said.
The researchers found that cyclic stretches and stressing forces activate sensitive enzymes called GTPases, specifically RhoA and Rac1, which coordinate the embryonic heart's maturation.
Without the enzymes activating at the proper times, heart valves do not form correctly.
"We identified a mechanism that transduced - or translated - a mechanical force into a biological response," Butcher said.
"That biological response over time creates these thin, flexible, formative leaflets. If this tissue fails to get thinner, that's a problem. If the tissue fails to elongate, that's a problem," he said.
The findings lay a foundation for hemodynamically informed surgical interventions to potentially retard valve malformation - or to restore it, Butcher said.
The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
Those triggers can override developmental, biological miscues, leading to proper embryonic heart and valve formation, researchers said.
"The heart is the first organ to form in the embryo. It morphs dynamically and rapidly all the while pumping nutrients to the developing body," said senior author Jonathan Butcher, associate professor at Cornell University in US.
"Wispy globular masses (called cushions because of their shape in the heart wall) need to condense and elongate to form thin robust leaflets capable of fast and resilient opening and closing," Butcher said.
Advertisement
Scientists understood that the embryonic heart needed blood flow to grow, but the valve component's role was not entirely understood, Butcher said.
Advertisement
Without the enzymes activating at the proper times, heart valves do not form correctly.
Advertisement
"That biological response over time creates these thin, flexible, formative leaflets. If this tissue fails to get thinner, that's a problem. If the tissue fails to elongate, that's a problem," he said.
Advertisement
The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
1 In 3 People Die Of Heart Disease Due To Buildup Of Fats, Cholesterol: Study Cardiovascular Diseases Take 4 Million Lives In Europe Early: WHO Researchers Develop Vaccine To Lower 'Bad' Cholesterol By 30% Omar Abdullah On What Should Be J&K Assembly's 1st Move After Polls Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case JAM 2025: All You Need To Know About Joint Admission Test For Masters Rajasthan Bans Sharp-Edged Objects In School After 15-Year-Old Stabbed 5 Points About Tahawwur Rana, Pak-Origin 26/11 Mumbai Attacks Accused Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.