Chinese scientists have discovered a critical heart development gene

Beijing. March 2. Silkroadnews -  Chinese scientists have identified a gene that is critical for the development of a network of nerves around the heart and its surrounding vasculature, Sina English information portal reports.
According to a study published in the U.S. journal Science Signaling, the discovery can potentially improve the prevention and treatment of such diseases as coronary artery disease, which is said to be a leading global cause of mortality.
Zhang Zhen, the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, and his colleagues have identified the gene “Wdpcp” as an important component in formation of the heart coronary plexus in mice.
This gene is known for its role in the formation of cellular cilia, which help control locomotion.
“The coronary arteries and the nerves surrounding them are essential for providing oxygen and nutrition to the heart muscle. Their development involves two major steps: the cells from the heart's inner lining form the primitive coronary plexus, which then begins the remodeling process by recruiting cells from outside of the heart, Zhang told Xinhua. The remodeling stage is essential for smooth muscle cells, the building blocks of artery walls, to surround the vessels in the primitive coronary plexus.
The remodeling step is necessary for smooth muscle cells, building blocks of artery walls, to surround the vessels in a primitive coronary plexus,” the publication reads.
Studying mice with mutated Wdpcp, the researchers have found that although the primitive coronary plexus was formed correctly and fairly quickly, the remodeling stage was defective due to a violation of cell migration from the outside of the heart, which ultimately delayed the formation of artery walls.
Mice with the Wdpcp gene removed showed the same remodeling defects, but significantly more severe than mice with mutated Wdpcp.
Zhang’s method is said to serve as a viable model for studying the stages of remodeling in the development of coronary arteries.