Role Of Epicardium Research Articles

Myocardial regeneration: role of epicardium and implicated genes.

Lower invertebrates' hearts such as those of zebrafish have the capacity for scarless myocardial regeneration which is lost by mammalian hearts as they form a fibrotic scar tissue instead of regenerating the injured area. However, neonatal mammalian hearts have a remarkable capacity for regeneration highlighting conserved evolutionary mechanisms underlying such a process. Studies investigated the underlying mechanism of myocardial regeneration in species capable to do so, to see its applicability on mammals. The epicardium, the mesothelial outer layer of the vertebrate heart, has proven to play an important role in the process of repair and regeneration. It serves as an important source of smooth muscle cells, cardiac fibroblasts, endothelial cells, stem cells, and signaling molecules that are involved in this process. Here we review the role of the epicardium in myocardial regeneration focusing on the different involved; Activation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and differentiation. In addition, we will discuss its contributory role to different aspects that support myocardial regeneration. Of these we will discuss angiogenesis and the formation of a regenerate extracellular matrix. Moreover, we will discuss several factors that act on the epicardium to affect regeneration. Finally, we will highlight the utility of the epicardium as a mode of cell therapy in the treatment of myocardial injury.

Pearl Quijada: Enthusiastic Drive From Coast to Coast.

As one who was not raised in a scientific background, Pearl Quijada is living proof that the science community benefits when taking a chance on those who exhibit great passion for the field. Pearl is a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Eric Small at the University of Rochester Medical Center—Cardiovascular Research Institute. She earned her BS in Biology at the University of California, Riverside. Pearl then achieved her MS in Cell and Molecular Biology at San Diego State University, before attending the Joint Doctoral Program at both San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego for her PhD. Most recently, she has won the 2016 BCVS Abstract Travel Award.1 I moved across the country to attend the University of Rochester, and I joined the lab of Dr Eric Small. He had a strong background in the role of epicardium during development, and he was also interested in studying its role in cardiac injury, similar to what I had studied back in California. We are investigating how epicardium—the layer around the heart that nurtures progenitor cells—plays a role during cardiac repair.2 Novel molecular markers may help us to develop new models and study heart regeneration more effectively. I like that I am taking a step back to understand more about the basic biology of progenitor cells in the heart. Some people think these cells are insignificant, that they are already well known in certain tissues, but I am applying new technology to validate that they can be beneficial in cardiac repair. My teaching assistants at University of California, Riverside were always so excited in their discussions about helping people, doing field work, and collecting specimens. They seemed stoked, and I thought “I want to do that.” Right after college, I thought about getting a …

The embryonic epicardium: an essential element of cardiac development

The epicardium has recently been identified as an active and essential element of cardiac development. Recent reports have unveiled a variety of functions performed by the embryonic epicardium, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating them. However, despite its developmental importance, a number of unsolved issues related to embryonic epicardial biology persist. In this review, we will summarize our current knowledge about (i) the ontogeny and evolution of the epicardium, including a discussion on the evolutionary origins of the proepicardium (the epicardial primordium), (ii) the nature of epicardial–myocardial interactions during development, known to be essential for myocardial growth and maturation, and (iii) the contribution of epicardially derived cells to the vascular and connective tissue of the heart. We will finish with a note on the relationships existing between the primordia of the viscera and their coelomic epithelial lining. We would like to suggest that at least a part of the properties of the embryonic epicardium are shared by many other coelomic cell types, such that the role of epicardium in cardiac development is a particular example of a more general mechanism for the contribution of coelomic and coelomic-derived cells to the morphogenesis of organs such as the liver, kidneys, gonads or spleen.

Candidate genes for the hereditary component of cardiac hypertrophy

Candidate genes for the hereditary component of cardiac hypertrophy