Abstract
Objective: The aim of our study was to assess myocytes apoptosis/mitosis and associated intracellular signalling pathways during heart development. Setting and patients: Eight human fetal hearts (at different gestation ages) and seven human adult hearts were chosen as controls (five normal and two pathological) and studied from both a histological and a molecular point of view. Results: Our results are as follows: (i) all Shc isoforms are expressed and activated in the human fetal heart; (ii) a progressive fading of Shc and ERK expression are evident during gestation; (iii) JNK is present but it is not activated in the human fetal heart; (iv) CD95 is present in the first week of gestation and fades progressively; (v) apoptotic/proliferative processes are present in the early gestation phase and fades progressively; (vi) in the human heart, Shc isoform with medium weight is 55 kD and not 52 kD and it is upregulated in adult myocardial ischaemia. Conclusions: Myocyte underwent apoptosis/mitosis during gestation. Shc isoforms, together with ERK maintain the homeostasis of the heart.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 409-417 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | International Journal of Cardiology |
Volume | 96 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2004 |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- Heart development
- Myocardial infarction
- Myocytes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine