Compensatory growth of healthy cardiac cells in the presence of diseased cells restores tissue homeostasis during heart development

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Compensatory growth of healthy cardiac cells in the presence of diseased cells restores tissue homeostasis during heart development
Creators Name:	Drenckhahn, J.D., Schwarz, Q.P., Gray, S., Laskowski, A., Kiriazis, H., Ming, Z., Harvey, R.P., Du, X.J., Thorburn, D.R. and Cox, T.C.
Abstract:	Energy generation by mitochondrial respiration is an absolute requirement for cardiac function. Here, we used a heart-specific conditional knockout approach to inactivate the X-linked gene encoding Holocytochrome c synthase (Hccs), an enzyme responsible for activation of respiratory cytochromes c and c1. Heterozygous knockout female mice were thus mosaic for Hccs function due to random X chromosome inactivation. In contrast to midgestational lethality of Hccs knockout males, heterozygous females appeared normal after birth. Analyses of heterozygous embryos revealed the expected 50:50 ratio of Hccs deficient to normal cardiac cells at midgestation; however, diseased tissue contributed progressively less over time and by birth represented only 10% of cardiac tissue volume. This change is accounted for by increased proliferation of remaining healthy cardiac cells resulting in a fully functional heart. These data reveal an impressive regenerative capacity of the fetal heart that can compensate for an effective loss of 50% of cardiac tissue.
Keywords:	Devbio, Cellcycle, Humdisease, Animals, Mice
Source:	Developmental Cell
ISSN:	1534-5807
Publisher:	Cell Press
Volume:	15
Number:	4
Page Range:	521-533
Date:	14 October 2008
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2008.09.005
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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