Lecture 45: CV Development, Congenital Heart Disease Flashcards
What are the critical events in cardiac development?
- Initial formation of straight heart tube with evolution into dual parallel circulations and a 4 chambered heart
- Formation of a brached vasculature and pump that is a low pressure circuit in utero but at birth has a requirement for high P systemic circulation to be separated from low P pulmonary circulation
- The heart must function before morphogenesis is complete
What are the steps of cardiac morphogenesis?
- myocardial specification and formation of linear heart tube
- looping
- septation
- patterning of the great vessels
- circulatory changes at birth
What is the cardiac crescent?
An epithelial layer of cardiac progenitor cells
Progenitors for myocardium, pericardium, endocardium
Located at the anterior rim of the embryonic disc
As the embryo grows, the developing heart assumes a position ventral to forebrain and foregut
How do the tubes of the heart first start forming?
Forms as two tubes
Heart progenitors migrate ventrally and medially to form a linear heart tube
What happens once the linear heart tube is formed?
Heart begins to beat -intrinsic pacemaker activity Blood flow commences -single circulation in series caudal to rostral Chamber specification
What is the secondary heart field?
Large parts of the RV and OT derive from a secondary field of cardiac precursors
Cells migrate into the outflow Tract and differentiate into muscle
A new formulation of secondary heart field disorders is in evolution
What are the potential types of secondary heart field defects?
Hypoplastic right heart Some forms of DORV DiGeorge Syndrome Ebstein’s anaomaly Abnormality in Wnt signaling and association with LiCl
What is the significance of Islet1 gene?
11-18% of secondary heart field CHD can be traced back to ISL1 mutations
So screening of ISL1 may be appropriate for families with SHF-CHD
What is looping?
Linear heart tube bends to the right and anteriorly
Direction driven by regional differences in myocardial growth rate
Beginning of septation
-endocardial cushions (OFT and AV canal)
-interventricular septum
Myocardial trabeculation
Ventricle shifts left as bulbus cordis enlarges
Significance: first sign of asymmetry of heart
What are the effects of cardiac looping?
Atria assumes more rostral and posterior orientation
Aortic root and bulbis cordis is still pointed upwards (bulbis cordis is the yellow guy)
What is the bulbis cordis?
A region that is comprised of
i. the conus cordis (CC)
ii. truncus arteriosus
Thus bulbus cordis leads to Cardiac OFT, Pulmonary artery and aorta
What does conus cordis (CC) lead to?
Cardiac OFT
Part of bulbus cordis
What does the truncus arteriosus lead to?
Pulm artery
Aorta
Part of bulbus cordis
What is septation?
Building walls between chambers (to form 4 chambers and 2 circulations) Does so by 1. AV canal septation 2. interventricular septation 3. interatrial septation 4. Outflow tract septation (TA and CC)
What are the two types of mechanisms for septation?
- Passive
2. Active
What are Passive mechanisms of septation?
- septum secondum
- muscular ventricular septum
- Aorticopulmonary
Septum primum = passive then active
What are active mechanisms of septation?
- AV canal
- Conal septum
- Truncal septum
(outflow tracts for 2 and 3)
What are the stages of atrial septation?
- Septum primum grows from dorsal wall of atrium towards AV valves (dorsal is superior here in the picture)
- ostium (hole) primum is the hole between LA and RA present when septum primum is growing
- ostium primum is closed actively by fusion of cusions
- However, an ostium secundum is then in the superior aspect of septum primum
- The septum on the superior aspect of atrial wall is now the septum secundum
- The septum secondum will passively close over the ostium secundum when the time comes
- Ostium secundum allows for flow from RA to LA during fetal development
- At birth, septum secundum will close and block off ostium secundum (or foramen ovale)
What is the septum?
The blockage of flow
What is the ostium?
The hole that allows hole to go through
What is the significance of the ostium primum?
Allows some fluid to still flow as you are putting a wall between them
What is the most common ASD?
Ostium secondum atrial septal defect
A problem with the second hole
What are the characteristics of secundum ASD?
Most common type of ASD
Occurs in center of septum between RA and LA
Due to incomplete formation of septum secundum
OR
Incomplete active closure of ostium secundum
Example: PFO
What is the difference between Ostium secondum ASD and PFO?
Ostium secundum ASD = much bigger hole
PFO is smaller hole
What is ostium primum atrial septal defect?
Second most common ASD
Located in lower portion of atrial septum
Due to incomplete active closure of the ostium primum
Associated with a cleft or slit-like defect in anterior leaflet of the mitral valve