Zonated Wnt/β-catenin signal-activated cardiomyocytes at the atrioventricular canal promote coronary vessel formation in zebrafish

Ayano Chiba; Takuya Yamamoto; Hajime Fukui; Moe Fukumoto; Manabu Shirai; Hiroyuki Nakajima; Naoki Mochizuki

doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2024.09.012

Zonated Wnt/β-catenin signal-activated cardiomyocytes at the atrioventricular canal promote coronary vessel formation in zebrafish

Dev Cell. 2024 Oct 8:S1534-5807(24)00540-9. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.09.012. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ayano Chiba¹, Takuya Yamamoto², Hajime Fukui³, Moe Fukumoto⁴, Manabu Shirai⁵, Hiroyuki Nakajima⁴, Naoki Mochizuki⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cell Biology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan; Department of Pharmacology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata 990-9585, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Life Science Frontiers, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan; Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan; Medical-Risk Avoidance Based on iPS Cells Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP), Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
³ Department of Cell Biology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan; Division of Biomechanics and Signaling, Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
⁴ Department of Cell Biology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan.
⁵ Omics Research Center, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan.
⁶ Department of Cell Biology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39395410
DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.09.012

Abstract

Cells functioning at a specific zone by clustering according to gene expression are recognized as zonated cells. Here, we demonstrate anatomical and functional zones in the zebrafish heart. The cardiomyocytes (CMs) at the atrioventricular canal between the atrium and ventricle could be grouped into three zones according to the localization of signal-activated CMs: Wnt/β-catenin signal⁺, Bmp signal⁺, and Tbx2b⁺ zones. Endocardial endothelial cells (ECs) changed their characteristics, penetrated the Wnt/β-catenin signal⁺ CM zone, and became coronary ECs covering the heart. Coronary vessel length was reduced when the Wnt/β-catenin signal⁺ CMs were depleted. Collectively, we demonstrate the importance of anatomical and functional zonation of CMs in the zebrafish heart.

Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin signaling; angiogenesis; arterialization; atrioventricular canal; coronary vessels; heartbeat; zonation.