The Epicardium: Development, Pathology, and Regeneration

A special issue of Hearts (ISSN 2673-3846).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2024) | Viewed by 2628

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biología Experimental, Universidad de Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Interests: cardiovascular development; transcriptional regulation; noncoding RNAs; atrial fibrillation
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Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Legal Medicine and History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Interests: cardiovascular developmental; epicardium; vasculogenesis; myocardium
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Guest Editor
Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Interests: cardiovascular development; gastrulation; gene expression patterns; microRNAs; signaling pathways; experimental models
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a tremendous effort to understand the molecular and morphogenetic mechanisms driving cardiovascular development. At early developmental stages, the cardiac tube is constituted by two layers: the endocardium and the myocardium. Soon after cardiac looping, a third layer is formed, the epicardium, establishing critical contribution and crosstalk with the primordial cardiac layers, which might compromise coronary vascular formation and myocardial thickening if impaired. Therefore, the epicardium, besides just externally covering the naked myocardium, is primordial in disease progression, including those apparently further apart pathologies such as atrial fibrillation. More recently, a role in cardiac regeneration has also been widely acclaimed in distinct experimental models.

This Special Issue aims to cover studies on the molecular and functional roles of the epicardium in the cardiovascular system, spanning from the early stages of development to the adult heart, including cardiovascular physiopathological conditions and cardiac regeneration. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: proepicardium/epicardium development, transcriptional regulation of proepicardium/epicardium formation, post-transcriptional regulation of proepicardium/epicardium formation, epigenetics of epicardial development, single-cell analyses of epicardial cell diversification, contribution of the epicardium to cardiac diseases, and the role of epicardium in cardiac regeneration.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in JCDD.

Prof. Dr. Diego Franco Jaime
Dr. Rita Carmona
Dr. Carmen Lopez-Sanchez
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • transcriptional regulation
  • post-transcriptional regulation
  • epigenetic
  • epicardium
  • proepicardium
  • cardiac disease
  • cardiac regeneration

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

13 pages, 976 KiB  
Review
Deciphering the Involvement of the Epicardium in Cardiac Diseases
by Rita Carmona, Carmen López-Sánchez, Virginio García-Martinez, Virginio García-López, Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli, Estefanía Lozano-Velasco and Diego Franco
Hearts 2023, 4(4), 81-93; https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts4040011 - 10 Nov 2023
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Abstract
The epicardium is a very dynamic cardiac layer with pivotal contributions during cardiogenesis, acting in the postnatal period as an apparently dormant single-cell layer. In mammalian embryos, the epicardium, which originates form the proepicardium, translocates into the pericardial cavity and subsequently rests on [...] Read more.
The epicardium is a very dynamic cardiac layer with pivotal contributions during cardiogenesis, acting in the postnatal period as an apparently dormant single-cell layer. In mammalian embryos, the epicardium, which originates form the proepicardium, translocates into the pericardial cavity and subsequently rests on the surface of the myocardium. Later, it gives rise to the epicardium-derived cells, which migrate into subepicardial space, invade the developing myocardium, promoting its growth, and contribute to different cell types. Anomalies in the process of epicardial development, the generation of epicardium-derived cells and their signaling mechanisms in different experimental models lead to defective cardiac development, reminiscent of human congenital heart diseases. Furthermore, recent studies have reported that epicardial derivates in adults, i.e., epicardial adipose tissue, are associated with electrophysiological cardiovascular anomalies. Herein, we provide a state-of-the-art review focusing on both congenital and adult heart diseases associated with epicardial development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Epicardium: Development, Pathology, and Regeneration)
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