Key result
Yap regulates atrial cardiomyocyte elongation in zebrafish via mechanisms distinct from ventricular trabeculation.
Why the study?
Cardiomyocytes in both the ventricle and atrium build internal structures for contraction, but how cardiomyocytes build the atrial wall was poorly understood.
Atrial chamber wall formation is driven by cardiomyocyte elongation and intercalation regulated by Yap, a mechanism distinct from the delamination process that drives ventricular trabeculation.
Tissues undergo distinct morphogenetic processes to achieve similarly shaped structures. In the heart, cardiomyocytes in both the ventricle and atrium build internal structures for efficient contraction. Ventricular wall formation (trabeculation) is initiated by cardiomyocyte delamination. How cardiomyocytes build the atrial wall is poorly understood. Using longitudinal imaging in zebrafish, we found that at least 25% of the atrial cardiomyocytes elongate along the long axis of the heart. These cell shape changes result in cell intercalation and convergent thickening, leading to the formation of the internal muscle network. We tested factors important for ventricular trabeculation including Nrg/ErbB and Notch signaling and found no evidence for their role in atrial muscle network formation. Instead, our data suggest that atrial cardiomyocyte elongation is regulated by Yap, which has not been implicated in trabeculation. Altogether, these data indicate that distinct cellular and molecular mechanisms build the internal muscle structures in the atrium and ventricle.
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Albu et al. (2024) studied Cardiac development. Yap pathway inhibition (K-975, IWR-1, or Yap1DN) vs. DMSO or wild-type controls was evaluated on Percentage of elongating atrial cardiomyocytes. Atrial cardiomyocyte elongation and internal muscle network formation in zebrafish are regulated by Yap, distinct from the mechanisms driving ventricular trabeculation.
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