Key result
Basement membranes play a crucial role in cardiac biology and disease, but their mechanistic interplay with morphological and functional consequences remains under-researched.
Why the study?
The role of the basement membrane in cardiac biology remains under-researched, leaving mechanistic gaps regarding the link between basement membrane defects and their functional consequences.
This review emphasizes the need for further research into the mechanistic interplay between basement membrane defects and cardiac disease.
No immediate clinical implications; leaves open mechanistic studies linking basement membranes to cardiac morphology and function.
Basement membranes (BMs) are highly specialised extracellular matrix (ECM) structures that within the heart underlie endothelial cells (ECs) and surround cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells. They generate a dynamic and structurally supportive environment throughout cardiac development and maturation by providing physical anchorage to the underlying interstitium, structural support to the tissue, and by influencing cell behaviour and signalling. While this provides a strong link between BM dysfunction and cardiac disease, the role of the BM in cardiac biology remains under-researched and our understanding regarding the mechanistic interplay between BM defects and their morphological and functional consequences remain important knowledge-gaps. In this review, we bring together emerging understanding of BM defects within the heart including in common cardiovascular pathologies such as contractile dysfunction and highlight some key questions that are now ready to be addressed.
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Boland et al. (2021) conducted a review in Cardiac disease. Basement membranes was evaluated. Basement membranes play a crucial role in cardiac biology and disease, but their mechanistic interplay with morphological and functional consequences remains under-researched.
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