Integrins and other cell adhesion molecules in cardiac development.
Cardiac morphogenesis is dependent on the coordinated and programmed expression of cell surface receptors that can mediate cell-cell associations or promote adhesion of the cell to its extracellular environment. This article briefly reviews the unique adhesive characteristics and expression profiles of the integrins and other families of adhesion molecules that have been implicated in critical events of early heart development. Understanding the developmental repertoire of receptor expression, which in most cases cannot be predicted from that seen in the mature heart, is an important component in unraveling the molecular events of normal cardiac development, congenital heart disease, and certain pathologic conditions seen in the adult heart.
Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Baldwin
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Buck