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Coordinating the first heartbeat

An impressive combination of computational modelling and experimental techniques in live zebrafish embryos reveals how the heart initiates its organized and rhythmic beating.
  1. Joshua Bloomekatz

    1. Joshua Bloomekatz is in the Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA.

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  2. Neil C. Chi

    1. Neil C. Chi is in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.

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The human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times during a lifetime. But what makes it tick for the very first time? From studies of chick embryos more than a century ago through to more recent investigations in mice1, it has become clear that the first heartbeat occurs even before formation of the primitive heart tube (the first functional structure formed during heart development). It is also known to be preceded by transient releases of calcium ions (Ca2+), which initially present as spontaneous asynchronous oscillations of Ca2+ concentrations2–4. Now, writing in Nature, Jia et al.5 exploit the unique attributes of zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) — including their external fertilization, optical transparency and tractability to genetic modification — to investigate in vivo how Ca2+ waves organize and propagate across the developing heart to trigger the first heartbeats.

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Nature 622, 37-39 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02938-2

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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