Main description:

The developing heart is the first functional organ, and its proper formation and function is essential for life. This volume compiles the exciting new advances that have been made in understanding the regulation of heart development, the genes and pathways involved, and the impact these have in heart disease. A stellar collection of scientists tackles an important facet of heart development, providing a comprehensive set of reviews.

Contents:

1. Life Before Nkx2.5 - Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells: Embryonic Origins and Development

2. The second heart field

3. An unauthorized biography of the second heart field and new pioneer/scaffold model for early cardiac development 4. Development and Evolution of the Ascidian Cardiogenic Mesoderm

5. Regulation of GATA4 transcriptional activity in cardiovascular development and disease 6. Localized and temporal gene regulation in heart development

7. Heart Valve Development, Maintenance and Disease: The Role of Endothelial Cells

8. An epicardial floor plan for building and rebuilding the mammalian heart 9. Transcription Factor Pathways and Congenital Heart Disease

10. MicroRNAs in Heart Development

11. Cardiac Regeneration