Newly Published: T. R. Jackson, H. Y. Kim, U. L. Balakrishnan, C. Stuckenholz, and L. A. Davidson (2017). Spatiotemporally controlled mechanical cues drive progenitor mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition enabling proper heart formation and function. Current Biology. 27: 1326–1335.
Describes a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) in heart progenitor cells that is regulated by temporally specific mechanical cues originating from the endoderm. Accelerating or delaying MET by manipulating the mechanical microenvironment of the heart-forming region leads to abnormal heart anatomy
and function.