Advances in the mechanism of Tbx2 regulation in embryonic cardiac development / 国际儿科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Embryonic cardiogenesis requires precise expression of various genes.This process involves a complex model of gene regulation,in which any deviation will lead to the occurrence of heart defects.Expression of Tbx2 in different species is ultimately confined to the atrioventricular canal in the non-ventricular myocardium,suggesting that the temporal and spatial expression of Tbx2 gene during cardiac development is highly consistent and evolutionarily conserved.As a member of the T-box transcription factor family,Tbx2 plays an important role in the differentiation of outflow tract and atrioventricular canal,leading to a series of changes in the regulatory pathway by regulating the transcription levels of the downstream target genes.At present,more and more studies have indicated that aberrant expressions or regulations of Tbx2 result in cardiac malformations in different model animals.In clinical studies,microdeletions/duplications in the fragments involving TBX2 and genetic variants in the non-coding region of this gene have also been reported in human congenital heart defects.Thus,this article is to review the advances in the effect and possible mechanisms for Tbx2 gene in cardiac development,and to discuss the relationship between this gene and congenital heart defects.