Quantification of myocyte chemotaxis: a role for FAK in regulating directional motility.

Formation of a fully functional four-chambered heart involves an intricate and complex series of events that includes precise spatial-temporal regulation of cell specification, proliferation, and migration. The formation of the ventricular septum during mid-gestation ensures the unidirectional flow of blood, and is necessary for postnatal viability. Notably, a majority of all congenital malformations of the cardiovascular system in humans involve septal abnormalities which afflict 1 out of 100 newborn children in the United States.