Coronary artery development mystery solved, may lead to better bypasses, Stanford study shows
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 13:07
in Health & Medicine
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying cardiac development in mouse embryos have identified the source of cells that become the coronary arteries - the vessels that deliver blood to nourish the continuously pumping heart muscle. Surprisingly, the cells originate in an entirely different part of the heart than previously thought. Although they begin life as venous cells, directing blood into the chambers of the embryonic heart, they undergo a form of natural reprogramming as they migrate across and into the surface of the heart to become arteries and capillaries.