[Gene expression specific for heart atria and ventricles].

The data on the chamber-specific expression of cardiac genes in the animal and human heart are reviewed. The positional specification of atrial and ventricular gene expression observed in adults is initiated early during embryogenesis. The existence of a cascade of genes is assumed, beginning with genes whose products form an anterior-posterior gradient along the heart-forming regions or along the linear heart tube derived from these regions, and ending with genes that encode the contractile proteins and display chamber-specific expression.