The nutritional requirements of the developing embryo are complex. In the case of dietary vitamin A (retinol, retinyl esters and provitamin A carotenoids), maternal derived nutrients serve as precursors to signaling molecules such as retinoic acid, which is required for embryonic patterning and organogenesis. Despite variations in the composition and levels of maternal vitamin A, embryonic tissues need to generate a precise amount of retinoic acid to avoid congenital malformations. Here, we summarize recent findings regarding the role and metabolism of vitamin A during heart development and we survey the association of genes known to affect retinoid metabolism or signaling with various inherited disorders. A better understanding of the roles of vitamin A in the heart and of the factors that affect retinoid metabolism and signaling can help design strategies to meet nutritional needs and to prevent birth defects and disorders associated with altered retinoid metabolism.

This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Carotenoids recent advances in cell and molecular biology edited by Johannes von Lintig and Loredana Quadro.

发育中的胚胎的营养需求是复杂的。就膳食维生素 A（视黄醇、视黄酯和维生素 A 类胡萝卜素）而言，母体衍生的营养物质可作为信号分子的前体，如视黄酸，这是胚胎图案形成和器官发生所必需的。尽管母体维生素 A 的成分和水平存在差异，但胚胎组织需要产生精确量的视黄酸以避免先天性畸形。在这里，我们总结了关于维生素 A 在心脏发育过程中的作用和代谢的最新发现，并调查了已知影响类视黄醇代谢或信号传导的基因与各种遗传性疾病的关联。

本文是由 Johannes von Lintig 和 Loredana Quadro 编辑的题为类胡萝卜素在细胞和分子生物学方面的最新进展特刊的一部分。