**1. Introduction**

96 Congenital Heart Disease – Selected Aspects

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of transforming growth factor-beta1 expression in fetal lamb ductus arteriosus

The heart is the first organ to develop and its proper formation is requisite for survival of the embryo. Heart development relies on exquisitely controlled signaling cascades that together weave the temporal and spatial cardiac gene expression patterns required for normal heart morphogenesis and function. Aberrations in cardiogenic signaling pathways or in cardiac gene expression patterns can result in congenital heart defects (CHDs), the most common type of birth defect worldwide and the leading noninfectious cause of infant death in the Western world (Hoffman 1995; Hoffman and Kaplan 2002). This review provides evidence from multiple experimental models that demonstrates the conserved, critical roles of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling pathways throughout heart development, from induction of the cardiac mesoderm to the formation of the fourchambered heart. BMP signaling pathways have roles in developmental processes that can contribute to CHDs, including formation of the septa, valves, and outflow tract.
