Fibronectin is required for proper extracellular matrix organization and cardiac outflow tract elongation in Xenopus laevis (opens in new tab)

IntroductionCongenital heart defects frequently arise from alterations in cardiac outflow tract (OFT) elongation, a process that depends on the coordinated deployment of second heart field (SHF) progenitor cells and their interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM). Among ECM components, fibronectin (Fn1) and tenascin-C (TnC) have emerged as key regulators of cardiac morphogenesis; however, the cellular organization of the SHF and the dynamics of its ECM environment remain poorly charact...