Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Sakabe, M. et al.

Rho kinases regulate endothelial invasion and migration during valvuloseptal endocardial cushion tissue formation.

Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) is a downstream effector of small Rho-GTPases, and phosphorylates several substrates to regulate cell functions, including actin cytoskeletal reorganization and cellular motility. Endothelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) is a critical event in the formation of valves and septa during cardiogenesis. It has been reported that ROCK plays an important role in the regulation of endocardial cell differentiation and migration during mouse cardiogenesis (Zhao and Rivkees [2004] Dev. Biol. 275:183-191). Immunohistochemistry showed that, during chick cardiogenesis, ROCK1 and -2 were expressed in the transforming and migrating endothelial/mesenchymal cells in the outflow tract (OT) and atrioventricular (AV) canal regions from which valvuloseptal endocardial cushion tissue would later develop. Treatment with Y27632, a specific ROCK inhibitor, of cultured AV explants or AV endothelial monolayers of stage 14-minus heart (preactivated stage for EMT) on three-dimensional collagen gel perturbed the seeding of mesenchymal cells into the gel lattice. In these experiments, Y27632 did not suppress the expression of an early transformation marker, smooth muscle alpha-actin. Moreover, Y27632 inhibited the mesenchymal invasion in stage 14-18 AV explants, in which endothelial cells had committed to undergo EMT. ML-9, a myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, also inhibited the mesenchymal invasion in cultured AV explants. These results suggest that ROCKs have a critical role in the mesenchymal cell invasion/migration that occurs at the late onset of EMT.[1]

References

Rho kinases regulate endothelial invasion and migration during valvuloseptal endocardial cushion tissue formation. Sakabe, M., Ikeda, K., Nakatani, K., Kawada, N., Imanaka-Yoshida, K., Yoshida, T., Yamagishi, T., Nakajima, Y. Dev. Dyn. (2006) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.