A Detailed Comparison of Mouse and Human Cardiac Development

BACKGROUND: Mouse mutants are used to model human congenital cardiovascular disease. Little is published comparing normal cardiovascular development in mice versus humans. We carried out a systematic comparative analysis of mouse and human fetal cardiovascular development. METHODS: Episcopic fluorescence image capture (EFIC) was performed on 66 wild type mouse embryos from embryonic day (E) 9.5-birth; 2D and 3D datasets were compared with EFIC and magnetic resonance images (MRI) from a study of 52 human fetuses (Carnegie Stage (CS) 13–23). RESULTS: Time course of atrial, ventricular and outflow septation were outlined, and followed a similar sequence in both species. Bilateral vena cavae and prominent atrial appendages were seen in the mouse fetus; in human fetuses, atrial appendages were small, and a single right superior vena cava was present. In contrast to humans with separate pulmonary vein orifices, a pulmonary venous confluence with one orifice enters the left atrium in mice. CONCLUSIONS: The cardiac developmental sequences observed in mouse and human fetuses are comparable, with minor differences in atrial and venous morphology. These comparisons of mouse and human cardiac development strongly support that mouse morphogenesis is a good model for human development.