Epithelial Polarity and Zebrafish Genetics
Zebrafish Cardiovascular Developmental Genetics
Vertebrate organs are derived from epithelial or endothelial sheets of cells that undergo complex morphogenetic transformations. We are studying the zebrafish heart, a relatively simple organ compared with its mammalian counterpart, to better understand the signaling events that instruct the assembly of the early heart tube. Initially this organ consists of only the outer myocardial and inner endocardial cell layers. We would like to understand: What are the signals that regulate the morphogenesis of myocardium and endocardium? To what extent do these two tissues communicate during cardiac looping, cushion formation, and trabeculation? What determines the differentiation of endocardium into its different subpopulations such as cushion cells? In collaboration with clinical researchers, we are using developmental genetics combined with cell biological and pharmacological approaches to develop animal models for human cardiovascular diseases. Our long-term interest is to understand
how the cellular mechanisms controlling zebrafish cardiogenesis shape our own heart and its associated blood vessels.