Development of autonomic innervation at the venous pole of the heart: bridging the gap from mice to human

Fleur, Zwanenburg, Thomas A., Bos, Arend D. J., Ten Harkel, Monique C., Haak, Nathan D., Hahurij, Robert E., Poelmann, Conny J., van Munsteren, Lambertus J., Wisse, Nico A., Blom, Marco C., DeRuiter, Monique R. M., Jongbloed

Journal of Translational Medicine |

Prenatal development of autonomic innervation of sinus venosus-related structures might be related to atrial arrhythmias later in life. Most of the pioneering studies providing embryological background are conducted in animal models. To date, a detailed comparison with the human cardiac autonomic nervous system (cANS) is lacking. The aim of this study was to compare the morphological and functional development of the cANS between mouse and human, specifically aimed at the venous pole.