Arty Hearts

The heart builds in careful stages inside the womb. At specific times, pools of progenitor cells change into contractile cardiomyocytes in heart muscle or conductive cells which build a network of Purkinje fibres that carry the electrical impulses helping the heart contract. In these mouse hearts, researchers follow progenitor cells through developmental milestones using confetti – a genetic tool that 'paints' cells with random blends of colours as development proceeds. While the overall patterns are similar here, the Purkinje branches (grey) in the right heart haven’t developed properly – they lack healthy activity of a gene called Nkx2-5 which researchers believe helps the conductive network to mature. This insight may help to understand problems in human hearts, where genetic mutations in Nkx2-5 can lead to congenital heart diseases.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

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A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Caroline Choquet, Robert G. Kelly & Lucile Miquerol
• Aix-Marseille Université, Developmental Biology Institute of Marseille, Marseille, France
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, October 2020