Abstract
Myocardial infarction results in the formation of granulation tissue in the injured ventricular wall. This tissue contains myofibroblasts in highly organized arrays; their contractile properties may help to prevent the infarct area from dilatation. The mechanisms that control myofibroblast alignment are unknown. We found that myofibroblasts express a homologue of Drosophila tissue polarity gene frizzled (fz2) when migrating into the granulation tissue. The expression is decreased after the cells have aligned. This suggests that fz2 is involved in the spatial control of cardiac wound repair after infarction, possibly through intra- and intercellular transmission of polarity signals as in developing Drosophila. Mutations in the fz2 gene may impair myofibroblast alignment in the infarct area, thereby resulting in ventricular dilatation and aneurism following infarction.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
