CAREER: Origins of Organized Activation in the Chordate Heart

该奖项的研究部分促进了对胚胎发育和跳动心脏祖先的理解。这项资助的教育目标是为对科学感兴趣的年轻人提供在专业研究环境中进行项目工作的第一手经验。特别强调的是让来自查尔斯顿低地的当地高中和少数民族学生对科学发现的过程感到好奇。Gourdie博士早期的研究工作揭示了两种基本心脏组织——冠状血管和心脏传导系统——的胚胎发育之间一种未被认识到的关系。从本质上说，在胚胎时期，心脏导线的铺设取决于冠状血管管道的发育。在此基础上，他计划将重点放在血管发育过程中分泌的旁分泌因子上，以及这些因子如何影响注定要成为传导系统一部分的细胞中的基因表达。将特别考虑对间隙连接和连接蛋白表达的下游影响——心肌细胞膜成分对指定和电整合心肌的不同功能区室至关重要。在海洋原脊索动物（Ciona ninteinalis）的心脏中，也将研究正在调查的过程的进化先例。独特的是，尽管这种动物的小管状心脏只有一层细胞厚，但它具有许多与高级脊索动物（如人类）心脏相同的特征。通过资助诸如此类的综合学术项目，NSF巩固了创新教学和研究发展所必需的知识自主。

The research component of this award advances understanding of the embryonic development and ancestry of the beating heart. The education goal of this grant is to provide young people interested in science first-hand experience of project work in a professional research environment. Special emphasis has been placed on getting local High School and minority students from the Charleston low country curious about the process of scientific discovery. Dr. Gourdie's earlier research work uncovered an unrecognized relationship between the embryonic development of two essential heart tissues---coronary blood vessels and the cardiac conduction system. In essence, it was determined that during embryonic life, laying down of the conductive wiring of the heart is dependent on the development of its coronary vascular plumbing. To build on this, he plans to focus on paracrine factors secreted by developing blood vessels, and how these might influence gene expression in cells destined to become part of the conduction system. Particular consideration will be given to understanding downstream effects on gap junctions and connexin expression---myocardial cell membrane components central to specifying and electrically integrating different functional compartments of heart muscle. Evolutionary antecedents of the processes under investigation will also be studied in the heart of the marine protochordate Ciona intestinalis. Uniquely, although the tiny, tube-like heart of this animal is only one cell layer thick, it possesses many characteristics in common with hearts from advanced chordates (e.g. Humans). By funding integrated academic programs such as this, the NSF underpins the intellectual autonomy necessary for development of innovative teaching and research.