In recent years, insights into the role of the epicardium in cardiac development have significantly changed. An important contribution to this increasing knowledge comes from the availability of mouse models that facilitate the study of the fate of the epicardial cell lineage and that allow epicardial-specific manipulation of expression of genes involved in regulation of epicardial cell behavior. In this contribution we will discuss our growing understanding of the role of the epicardium and epicardially derived cells in the formation of the atrioventricular valve leaflets. We will illustrate how epicardially derived cells specifically contribute to the development of the leaflets that derive from the lateral atrioventricular cushions, and we will discuss the role of Bmp signaling, through the Bmp receptor BmpR1A/Alk3, in the regulation of the preferentially migration of EPDCs into the parietal AV valve leaflets.
Copyright 2016, The Author(s).