Cardiac fibroblasts originate primarily from the epicardium and endocardium during embryogenesis, with specific signaling pathways like PDGFRα and Tcf21 regulating their development.
This review highlights the dual embryonic origins (epicardial and endocardial) of cardiac fibroblasts and the key transcriptional networks governing their development, providing a foundation for understanding their role in cardiac fibrosis and heart failure.
Cardiac fibroblasts and fibrosis contribute to the pathogenesis of heart failure, a prevalent cause of mortality. Therefore, a majority of the existing information regarding cardiac fibroblasts is focused on their function and behavior after heart injury. Less is understood about the signaling and transcriptional networks required for the development and homeostatic roles of these cells. This review is devoted to describing our current understanding of cardiac fibroblast development. I detail cardiac fibroblast formation during embryogenesis including the discovery of a second embryonic origin for cardiac fibroblasts. Additional information is provided regarding the roles of the genes essential for cardiac fibroblast development. It should be noted that many questions remain regarding the cell-fate specification of these fibroblast progenitors, and it is hoped that this review will provide a basis for future studies regarding this topic.
Michelle D. Tallquist (Mon,) conducted a review in Cardiac fibrosis and heart development. Cardiac fibroblasts originate primarily from the epicardium and endocardium during embryogenesis, with specific signaling pathways like PDGFRα and Tcf21 regulating their development.