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(Circulation Research. 2009;105:934.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Review

Origin of Cardiac Fibroblasts and the Role of Periostin

Paige Snider, Kara N. Standley, Jian Wang, Mohamad Azhar, Thomas Doetschman, Simon J. Conway

From the Riley Heart Research Center (P.S., K.N.S., J.W., S.J.C.), Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis; and BIO5 Institute (M.A., T.D.), University of Arizona, Tucson.

Correspondence to Simon J. Conway, 1044 W Walnut St, Room R4 W379, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202. E-mail siconway{at}iupui.edu

This Review is part of a thematic series on Developmental Biology, which includes the following articles:

Signaling Pathways Controlling Second Heart Field Development [2009;104:933–942]

Heart Valve Development: Regulatory Networks in Development and Disease [2009;105:408–421]

Specification of the Cardiac Conduction System by Transcription Factors [2009;105:620–630]

Origin of Cardiac Fibroblasts and the Role of Periostin

Epicardial–Myocardial Signaling Directing Coronary Vasculogenesis

Myocyte Development–Specification/Epicardium
Elizabeth McNally Guest Editor

Abstract: Cardiac fibroblasts are the most populous nonmyocyte cell type within the mature heart and are required for extracellular matrix synthesis and deposition, generation of the cardiac skeleton, and to electrically insulate the atria from the ventricles. Significantly, cardiac fibroblasts have also been shown to play an important role in cardiomyocyte growth and expansion of the ventricular chambers during heart development. Although there are currently no cardiac fibroblast-restricted molecular markers, it is generally envisaged that the majority of the cardiac fibroblasts are derived from the proepicardium via epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation. However, still relatively little is known about when and where the cardiac fibroblasts cells are generated, the lineage of each cell, and how cardiac fibroblasts move to reside in their final position throughout all four cardiac chambers. In this review, we summarize the present understanding regarding the function of Periostin, a useful marker of the noncardiomyocyte lineages, and its role during cardiac morphogenesis. Characterization of the cardiac fibroblast lineage and identification of the signals that maintain, expand and regulate their differentiation will be required to improve our understanding of cardiac function in both normal and pathophysiological states.

Key Words: heart • cardiac fibroblast • extracellular matrix • Periostin • transforming growth factor-β signaling