Understanding the differentiation of the endocardium

该项目旨在了解心内膜发育的遗传规律。心脏对于生存是必不可少的，它的跳动是生命的指示器。心内膜是心脏发育过程中传递信号所必需的内层，是瓣膜、隔膜和心脏小梁的主要组成部分。尽管它扮演着不可或缺的角色，但人们对它是如何形成或发展的知之甚少。该项目整合了两种互补的方法，这两种方法已经确定了心内膜分化的最早标志，并设计了从干细胞分化为心内膜的方法。来自这项工作的知识将为未来关于生长和再生受损组织的研究提供信息。

The project aims to understand the genetic regulation of endocardial development. The heart is essential for survival, its beat the indicator of life. The endocardium, the heart’s inner lining, is required for signalling during heart development and is a major component of the valves, septa and trabeculae. Despite its indispensable role, little is known about how it forms or develops. This project integrates two complementary approaches that have identified the earliest marker of endocardial differentiation and devised the method to make endocardium from stem cells. Knowledge from this work will inform future research into growing and regenerating damaged tissue.