3D spatial organization of heterogeneous nkx2.5+ progenitors in the zebrafish heart field pre-patterns cardiovascular development
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Nkx2.5+ progenitor cells are specified in the bilateral zebrafish heart field, which contributes to multiple cardiovascular derivatives. After specification, the field physically separates into a cardiac fraction that migrates to the midline to form ventricular and atrial myocardium, a pharyngeal fraction that is sequestered in the pharyngeal arches before generating head muscles, the outflow tract, and pharyngeal arch arteries, and a lateral fraction that becomes inflow atrial and pacemaker cardiomyocytes as well as pericardium. Whether these progenitors are transcriptionally distinct and regionally organized has remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the heart field is composed of heterogeneous nkx2.5+ progenitor populations that are arranged according to their migratory paths and end fates. Through prospective fate mapping and mutant analyses, we define the derivatives of each subgroup. Our data provide a 3D blueprint of heart field organization, offering insights into cardiovascular development and identifying vulnerabilities contributing to congenital heart disease. Nkx2.5+ progenitor cells within the anterior lateral plate mesoderm, defined as the heart field, give rise to distinct cardiopharyngeal lineages and structures. Here, the authors show that the nkx2.5+ progenitor cells are heterogenous in the classic heart field and are spatially patterned based on their future migratory paths.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Awards: G1061123656, G1588164911, Computational epigenetics modeling of cell identity genes, Role of S-nitrosylation in Transdifferentiation, G1823455939, Mechanistic dissection of 22q11.2DS in zebrafish, G2204230691, G2725234840, G302956441, G3432180596, G3929851580, G41139263, G4641759555, G5803040003, Research Methods in Pediatric Cardiovascular Disease, G7750596658, G8299072950, Reversal of Heart Failure: Role of Vascular Recovery, G8594353324, G8930447624, Cardiovascular disease in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Bioinformatics Techniques to Analyze Dynamic Changes of 3D Genome, G972050559
OpenAlex ID: W4416674088