日本小児循環器学会雑誌 Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Despite its clinical importance, the detailed genetic etiology of congenital heart disease is unknown, and it has been considered a “multifactorial” disease. The development of the heart is regulated by the spatiotemporal control of many genes in order to construct a three-dimensional complex form. To elucidate the pathogenesis of congenital heart disease, it is essential to promote research focusing on site-specific development in cardiovascular morphogenesis. Studies using genetically modified animals and stem cells are actively being conducted, and new insights into cardiac development and mechanisms of pathogenesis have accumulated over the past 20 years. These include the detailed roles of multiple cardiac progenitors contributing to the development of each component of the heart. This review describes the developments and future prospects in the field of basic research on pediatric cardiovascular disease.