In Search of Novel Targets for Heart Disease: Myocardin and Myocardin-Related Transcriptional Cofactors

Table 1

Mouse loss-of-function studies of Myocd-related family.

Gene	knockout	Embryonic cardiovascular phenotype	Embryonic phenotype	After-birth phenotype	Reference
Myocd	Constitutive	Block in SMC differentiation; heart development is obviously normal	Lethal; early-to-mid-gestation	No survivors	[42]
Myocd	Conditional, heart restricted	Obviously normal heart development	Obviously normal	DCM, HF	[43]
Mrtf-A	Constitutive	No obvious abnormalities	Obviously normal	Myoepithelial defects of the mammary gland;poor hypertrophic response	[44]
					[45]
Mrtf-A	Constitutive	65%-no obvious abnormalities;	65%-obviously normal	Myoepithelial defects of the mammary gland
		35%-dilated heart	35%-lethal, early-to-mid-gestation		[46]
Mrtf-B	Constitutive	Double outlet RV, ventricular septal defects, thin-walled myocardium, abnormal patterning of the branchial arch arteries	Lethal; midgestation	No survivors	[47]
Mrtf-B	Constitutive	Double outlet RV, cardiac outflow tract defects, ventricular septal defects, persistent truncus arteriosus	Lethal, late gestation	No survivors	[48]
Mrtf-B	Constitutive	Ventricular septal defects, thin myocardium, truncus arteriosus	Lethal; late gestation	Only a few grossly normal survivors	[49]

RV: right ventricle; HF: heart failure; DCM: dilated cardiomyopathy.