Cell signaling of adjacent cells. In cardiac muscle, gap junctions between adjacent cells allows for action potential propagation from the cardiac pacemaker region of the heart to spread and coordinately cause contraction of the heart. The notch signaling mechanism is an example of juxtacrine signaling (also known as contact-dependent signaling) in which two adjacent cells must make physical contact in order to communicate. This requirement for direct contact allows for very precise control of cell differentiation during embryonic development. In the worm "Caenorhabditis elegans", two cells of the developing gonad each have an equal chance of terminally differentiating or becoming a uterine
Cardiac neural crest cells observed when GATA6 was inactivated within vascular smooth muscle cells. GATA6 in combination with Wnt (Wnt2-GATA6) plays a role in the development of the posterior pole of the heart (the inflow tract). There is interest amongst researchers as to whether CNCCs can be used to repair human heart tissue. Heart attacks in humans are common and their rate of mortality is high. There are emergency treatments that hospitals can administer, such as angioplasty or surgery, but after that patients will likely be on medication for the long term and are more susceptible to heart attacks in the future. Other complications