Quantitative Proteomic Profiling of Murine Embryonic Heart Development Reveals a Role for the Mevalonate Pathway in Cardiomyocyte Proliferation

Abstract

Defining the molecular mechanisms that govern heart development is essential for identifying the etiology of congenital heart disease. Here, quantitative proteomics was used to measure temporal changes in the cardiac proteome at eight critical stages of murine embryonic heart development. Global temporal profiles of the over 7,300 identified proteins uncovered signature cardiac protein interaction networks that linked protein dynamics with molecular pathways. Using this integrated dataset, we identified and established a functional role for the mevalonate pathway in the regulation of embryonic cardiomyocyte proliferation and cell signaling. Overall, our proteomic datasets are an invaluable resource for studying molecular events that regulate embryonic heart development and contribute to congenital heart disease.