Minimally Invasive Surgery for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Patient Selection and Special Considerations.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is an aggressive primary hepatic malignancy. Unfortunately, despite advancements in diagnosis, staging and management, mortality is high. Surgery remains the only curative treatment, but many patients present with advanced, unresectable disease.

Integrin α5 and Integrin α4 cooperate to promote endocardial differentiation and heart morphogenesis.

Endocardium is critically important for proper function of the cardiovascular system. Not only does endocardium connect the heart to blood vasculature, it also plays an important role in heart morphogenesis, valve formation, and ventricular trabeculation. The extracellular protein Fibronectin (Fn1) promotes endocardial differentiation, but the signaling pathways downstream of Fn1 that regulate endocardial development are not understood.