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FIG. 4. Myocardial differentiation in lateral heart field (LHF) mesoderm is suppressed by dorsal tissue. Explants were dissected from stage 22 embryos, cultured to stage 41, and scored for rhythmic beating. For reference to the dye injection sites (Fig. 3), the border between the ventral heart field (VHF) and the LHF explants was positioned just ventral to the site B microinjections such that LHF explants contained cells labeled by microinjection at site B (prospective dorsal pericardium and dorsal mesocardium) and VHF explants encompassed site C (prospective myocardium). Note that stage 22 LHF explants formed beating tissue efficiently when maintained in isolation from dorsal and ventral tissues. When explants included dorsolateral somitic tissue (LHF-DL) or somitic, notochordal, and neural tissues (LHF-N) myocardial differentiation was significantly reduced. Importantly, tissue just dorsal to the XNkx2.5 domain never formed beat in culture (DL explants), indicating that it resides outside the classically defined heart field. Numbers of explants are given in parentheses and error bars indicate standard error of the mean. Image published in: Raffin M et al. (2000) Copyright © 2000. Image reproduced with permission of the Publisher, Elsevier B. V. Larger Image Printer Friendly View

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