A-to-I RNA editing enzyme Adar1 is essential for cardiac morphogenesis

In recent years, the topic of RNA modifications, epitranscriptomics, has gained momentum in a variety of fields. It is now firmly established that modifications of RNA can affect splicing, RNA stability and turnover, and translation, which ultimately influence the pathophysiology of organisms. Although its importance has been appreciated, epitranscriptomics in the heart has not been investigated extensively. Among over 140 RNA modifications, adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is of particular interest in the heart as it is reported to be increased in patients of congenital heart defects and atherosclerosis. However, its function in cardiomyocytes, especially during development, has not been investigated. Hearts from two Adar1 (flox/flox) // Nkx2.5-Cre (WT/WT) E18.5 embryos and two Adar1 (flox/flox) // Nkx2.5-Cre (Cre/WT) E18.5 embryos