RETROVIRAL VECTORS TO STUDY CARDIOVASCULAR DEVELOPMENT

The functioning of the vertebrate heart depends upon the proper organi zation of its complex structure: atrial and ventricular myocytes, the conduction system, the fibrous skeleton that forms the chambers and va lves of the heart, the coronary vessels, and neural elements. Cell-typ e specific transgenic models for addressing molecular mechanisms regul ating heart development necessitate controllable gene insertions into the precursors of each cell type forming the heart. The unique propert ies of retrovirus-based shuttle vectors provide a powerful tool for (a ) identifying the origin and lineage relationships of all cell types f orming the heart; and (b) gene targeting to the selected cell type and time point during heart development.