title: Developmental transitions in cardiac conduction.
abstract: The proper sequence of electrical activation of the mature four-chambered heart requires specialized conduction pathways including the His-Purkinje system and a nearly complete separation of the atrial and ventricular myocardium. We tracked the emergence of the structure of the mature His-Purkinje system in the developing chicken embryo with anti-polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) and the HNK1 antibody against a sulfated carbohydrate epitope. The function of the His-Purkinje system was assayed using extracellular electrodes and high-resolution voltage-sensitive two-dimensional optical mapping. The appearance of the mature form of the His-Purkinje system delineated by the markers coincided with the onset of the mature electrophysiological pattern of ventricular activation. These data suggest that, at the completion of ventricular septation, the His-Purkinje system undergoes critical structural and functional transitions that impact on the global pattern of conduction and contraction of the developing four-chambered heart.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Emil Thomas
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Chuck
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rothenberg
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism