Intra-Cellular Signaling in Cardiac Differentiation, Physiology and Electrophysiology

Dear Colleagues,

Intracellular signaling cascades have increasingly been shown to play important roles in regulating both cardiomyocyte differentiation and physiology. Intracellular signaling cascades connect extracellular stimuli at the cell surface to the nucleus leading to changes in gene expression and cellular behavior. Extracellular signals bind to surface receptors stimulating intracellular target enzymes which in turn activate downstream signaling elements that propagate and amplify the initial signal through a variety of intracellular targets.  Signaling through such diverse pathways as the RAS/RAF, Erk, Jnk and MapKinase cascades has been linked to cardiac differentiation, proliferation and maintenance of normal physiology. In addition dysregulation of these pathways is linked to a number of cardiac pathophysiologies such as cardiac hypertrophy and valve calcification, among others. These pathways are also critical for cardiac development and maturation.  For example, while it is well known that these pathways are important for rapid electrophysiological changes in response to changes in cholinergic and adrenergic stimulation, they may also be critical for the differentiation of distinct mature cardiac types such as pacemaker cells . These pathways have also been shown to play roles in regulating cell death within the heart in response to injury. Finally, the specific outcome from such signaling may involve the integration of signaling through multiple parallel pathways. In short, understanding the role of intracellular signaling will be critical for our understand of both normal cardiac development and function as well as cardiac pathophysiology and disease.

Dr. Ann Foley
Guest Editor

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• Intracellular signaling
• Cardiac