Faculty Collaboration Database

Activin-A and FGF-2 mimic the inductive effects of anterior endoderm on terminal cardiac myogenesis in vitro. Dev Biol 1995 Apr;168(2):567-74

Date

04/01/1995

Pubmed ID

7729588

DOI

10.1006/dbio.1995.1102

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0028905441 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   121 Citations

Abstract

We recently reported that the differentiation of cultured embryonic precardiac myocytes is specifically promoted by anterior lateral plate endoderm from Hamburger-Hamilton stage 6 chick embryos. Polypeptide growth factors are probable mediators of cardiogenesis during embryonic development. It was previously noted that activin-A is a major secretory product of endoderm cultured from chicken embryos. Also, fibroblast growth factor-like proteins are present in anterior endoderm of stage 6 chick embryos. Therefore, we have examined the cardiogenic effects of these growth factors on cultured precardiac mesoderm cells explanted from stage 6 embryos. Similar to the effects of anterior endoderm, low concentrations of activin-A, FGF-2 (bFGF), or insulin significantly increased the incidence of explants that exhibited synchronous contractions and expressed cardiac alpha-actin mRNA. By contrast, explants treated with transferrin, bovine serum albumin, or nerve growth factor never contracted and contained only cytoplasmic beta-actin transcripts. These results provide additional evidence that endoderm-secreted activin-A, FGF-2, and perhaps insulin participate in regulating terminal cardiac differentiation in the embryo.

Author List

Sugi Y, Lough J

Author

John W. Lough PhD, MS Emeritus Professor in the Cell Biology Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Actins
Activins
Animals
Cell Differentiation
Cells, Cultured
Chick Embryo
Endoderm
Fibroblast Growth Factor 2
Inhibins
Insulin
Mesoderm
Myocardium
RNA, Messenger