BVES and generation of coronary vessels

心脏的发育涉及多种细胞类型的产生和相互作用，以形成一个功能器官。心肌细胞、心内膜、成纤维细胞、心外膜、血管内皮和平滑肌是构成心脏的主要细胞类型。心外膜前器官是许多这些细胞的来源。它是一种短暂的胚胎结构，其后代形成心外膜和心内动脉，包括冠状动脉。因此，了解前心外膜器官及其后代的作用对于了解心脏发育至关重要。我们已经分离出一种新的蛋白Bves，它在大多数（如果不是在前心外膜器官的细胞中）、迁移的心外膜、脱层自由迁移的间质和冠状血管平滑肌细胞中表达。此外，Bves的亚细胞定位随着该细胞系的分化发生了巨大的变化。我们目前的数据表明Bves是一种可能在冠状血管发育过程中起细胞粘附作用的蛋白质。我们的目的是确定Bves是否是一个集成膜（Aim），确定在体外和器官发生过程中调节Bves功能的结构域（Aim 2），并确定Bves功能的丧失如何潜在地改变形态发生（Aim 3）。综上所述，这些目标将确定Bves的功能，其在冠状血管生成中的作用以及对冠状血管生物学的基本认识。

Heart development involves the generation and interaction of diverse cell types to form a functional organ. Myocytes, endocardium, fibroblasts, epicardium, vascular endothelium and smooth muscle are the primary cell types that comprise the heart. The pro-epicardial organ is the source of many of these cells. It is a transitory embryonic structure whose progeny form, amongst other structures, the epicardium and intracardiac arteries including the coronary arteries.. Thus, an understanding of the role of the pro-epicardial organ and its progeny is essential for an understanding of heart development. We have isolated novel protein, Bves, that is expressed in most, if not cells of the pro-epicardial organ, migrating epicardial, delaminated freely migratory mesenchyme and coronary vascular smooth muscle cells. In addition, the subcellular localization of Bves undergoes a dramatic change with differentiation of this cell lineage. Our current data suggests that Bves is a protein that may play a role in cell adhesion during coronary vessel development. Our aims are to determine whether Bves is an integrated membrane (Aim ), to identify domains that regulate Bves function in vitro and during organogenesis (Aim 2) and to determine how loss of Bves function potentially alters morphogenesis (Aim 3). Taken together these aims will determine the function(s) of Bves, its role in the generation of coronary vessels and basic insight into coronary vessel biology.