A window to the heart: can zebrafish mutants help us understand heart disease in humans?
Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the developed world. Abnormalities of heart muscle (cardiomyopathies) and/or electrical conduction (arrhythmias) are frequent causes of heart failure and sudden death. During the past twelve years, identification of genetic mutations that cause familial cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias has fueled a massive increase in molecular investigation into these diseases. Today, studies of zebrafish mutants with defective heart function are providing insight into the genes required to generate a normal heartbeat.
D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000235:genetics; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000235:genetics; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000235:genetics; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics*