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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Mar 19.
Published in final edited form as: Circ Res. 2010 Mar 19;106(5):818–832. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.109.209197

Table 1. Growth Factors in Coronary Development.

Molecule Expression Functions Reference
TGFβ1-3 Epicardial,
Myocardial		 Supports epicardial EMT; maintains epicardial/myocardial
adhesion; promotes smooth muscle cell recruitment		 25, 48-51
FGF-1 Epicardial,
Myocardial		 Promotes epicardial EMT 63
FGF-2 Epicardial,
Myocardial		 Promotes epicardial EMT; induces endothelial cell
differentiation from epicardial-derived cells; promotes vascular
tube formation; required for coronary ostia formation		 63, 67, 72
FGF-7 Myocardial Promotes epicardial EMT 63
FGF-9,-16,-20 Epicardial Supports myocardial proliferation; indirectly promotes
coronary plexus formation via induction of Shh, VEGF, and
Angiopoietin expression		 59, 64
VEGF Myocardial Induces epicardial EMT; promotes endothelial cell
tubulogenesis and proliferation; required for coronary ostia
formation		 15, 72, 91, 92
PDGF Myocardial Promotes epicardial EMT; supports smooth muscle cell
differentiation and recruitment; promotes endothelial cell
tubulogenesis?		 77, 78, 84
Wnt/β-catenin Epicardial Promotes epicardial EMT; supports coronary vessel
remodeling; Smooth muscle cell differentiation, recruitment		 28, 46
Retinoic Acid Epicardial Maintains myocardial/epicardial adhesion; promotes epicardial
EMT; indirectly promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation and
differentiation		 28, 35
Erythropoietin Epicardial Indirectly promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation; induces
coronary vascular plexus formation		 35, 38
Sonic Hedgehog Epicardial Promotes epicardial EMT; induces VEGF and Ang2 expression
in myocardium		 16, 64
Ang2 Myocardial Rescues coronary vascular plexus formation in combination
with VEGF when Shh signaling is blocked		 64