Mechanical forces shaping the developing and regenerating heart

Tbx5, a transcription factor, marks a population of ventricular CMs that contribute to the formation of

the primitive heart tube. These cells give rise to the majority of ventricular cardiomyocytes in

zebrafish. But they are found to be absent in the cranial part of the ventricle (close to the outflow

track), which is derived from the second heart field (SHF). RNA-seq analyses comparing from

the Mercader laboratory on tbx5a-positive and tbx5a-negative ventricular cardiomyocytes revealed

that tbx5a-negative cells are enriched with mechanically important genes related to cytoskeleton,

extracellular matrix, as well as caveolae.This project will be exploring mechanosensing and the further response of the heart in normal

development and during regeneration. It will allow us to better understand the effect of genes

involved in these pathways and the phenotypic correlation with known pathological conditions or

clinical observations. It will allow us to understand which molecular mechanisms are in place to

respond to changing mechanical load and how these impact normal physiology as well as

regeneration.