Conotruncal Heart Defects: Altered Tissue Morphology and Hemodynamics

Impaired Development of Left Anterior Heart Field by Ectopic Retinoic Acid Causes Transposition of the Great Arteries

BACKGROUND Transposition of the great arteries is one of the most commonly diagnosed conotruncal heart defects at birth, but its etiology is largely unknown. The anterior heart field (AHF) that resides in the anterior pharyngeal arches contributes to conotruncal development, during which heart progenitors that originated from the left and right AHF migrate to form distinct conotruncal regions. ...

One-carbon metabolite levels in mid-pregnancy and risks of conotruncal heart defects.

BACKGROUND Evidence exists for an association between use of vitamin supplements with folic acid in early pregnancy and reduced risk for offspring with conotruncal heart defects. A few observations have been made about nutrients related to one-carbon metabolism other than folate. Our prospective study attempted to extend information on nutrition and conotruncal heart defects by measuring analyt...

New Insight from Using Spatiotemporal Image Correlation in Prenatal Screening of Fetal Conotruncal Defects

Identification of two novel GATA6 mutations in patients with nonsyndromic conotruncal heart defects.

GATA binding protein 6 (GATA6) encodes a zinc‑finger transcription factor that is essential for normal heart development. Mutations in this gene lead to conotruncal heart defects associated with cyanotic congenital heart disease; however, it remains unclear whether the mutations in GATA6 are also responsible for the development of the nonsyndromic conotruncal heart defects. The coding region exo...

Congenital heart malformations induced by hemodynamic altering surgical interventions

Embryonic heart formation results from a dynamic interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Blood flow during early embryonic stages plays a critical role in heart development, as interactions between flow and cardiac tissues generate biomechanical forces that modulate cardiac growth and remodeling. Normal hemodynamic conditions are essential for proper cardiac development, while alte...