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Cells, Tissues, Organs 2012Tissue and organ viability depends on the proper systemic distribution of cells, nutrients, and oxygen through blood vessel networks. These networks arise in part via... (Review)
Review
Tissue and organ viability depends on the proper systemic distribution of cells, nutrients, and oxygen through blood vessel networks. These networks arise in part via angiogenic sprouting. Vessel sprouting involves the precise coordination of several endothelial cell processes including cell-cell communication, cell migration, and proliferation. In this review, we discuss zebrafish and mammalian models of blood vessel sprouting and the quantification methods used to assess vessel sprouting and network formation in these models. We also review the mechanisms involved in angiogenic sprouting, and we propose that the process consists of distinct stages. Sprout initiation involves endothelial cell interactions with neighboring cells and the environment to establish a specialized tip cell responsible for leading the emerging sprout. Furthermore, local sprout guidance cues that spatially regulate this outward migration are discussed. We also examine subsequent events, such as sprout fusion and lumenization, that lead to maturation of a nascent sprout into a patent blood vessel.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Endothelial Cells; Humans; Models, Animal; Neovascularization, Physiologic
PubMed: 21996655
DOI: 10.1159/000331398 -
Nature Jun 2022The lineage and developmental trajectory of a cell are key determinants of cellular identity. In the vascular system, endothelial cells (ECs) of blood and lymphatic...
The lineage and developmental trajectory of a cell are key determinants of cellular identity. In the vascular system, endothelial cells (ECs) of blood and lymphatic vessels differentiate and specialize to cater to the unique physiological demands of each organ. Although lymphatic vessels were shown to derive from multiple cellular origins, lymphatic ECs (LECs) are not known to generate other cell types. Here we use recurrent imaging and lineage-tracing of ECs in zebrafish anal fins, from early development to adulthood, to uncover a mechanism of specialized blood vessel formation through the transdifferentiation of LECs. Moreover, we demonstrate that deriving anal-fin vessels from lymphatic versus blood ECs results in functional differences in the adult organism, uncovering a link between cell ontogeny and functionality. We further use single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis to characterize the different cellular populations and transition states involved in the transdifferentiation process. Finally, we show that, similar to normal development, the vasculature is rederived from lymphatics during anal-fin regeneration, demonstrating that LECs in adult fish retain both potency and plasticity for generating blood ECs. Overall, our research highlights an innate mechanism of blood vessel formation through LEC transdifferentiation, and provides in vivo evidence for a link between cell ontogeny and functionality in ECs.
Topics: Animal Fins; Animals; Blood Vessels; Cell Lineage; Cell Transdifferentiation; Endothelial Cells; Lymphatic Vessels; Zebrafish
PubMed: 35614218
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04766-2 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jun 2021Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) were originally identified as the active components in bone extracts that can induce ectopic bone formation. In recent decades, their... (Review)
Review
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) were originally identified as the active components in bone extracts that can induce ectopic bone formation. In recent decades, their key role has broadly expanded beyond bone physiology and pathology. Nowadays, the BMP pathway is considered an important player in vascular signaling. Indeed, mutations in genes encoding different components of the BMP pathway cause various severe vascular diseases. Their signaling contributes to the morphological, functional and molecular heterogeneity among endothelial cells in different vessel types such as arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels and capillaries within different organs. The BMP pathway is a remarkably fine-tuned pathway. As a result, its signaling output in the vessel wall critically depends on the cellular context, which includes flow hemodynamics, interplay with other vascular signaling cascades and the interaction of endothelial cells with peri-endothelial cells and the surrounding matrix. In this review, the emerging role of BMP signaling in lymphatic vessel biology will be highlighted within the framework of BMP signaling in the circulatory vasculature.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; Humans; Lymphatic Vessels; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34198654
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126364 -
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews.... Sep 2016Blood vessels form a highly branched, interconnected, and largely stereotyped network of tubes that sustains every organ and tissue in vertebrates. How vessels come to... (Review)
Review
Blood vessels form a highly branched, interconnected, and largely stereotyped network of tubes that sustains every organ and tissue in vertebrates. How vessels come to take on their particular architecture, or how they are 'patterned,' and in turn, how they influence surrounding tissues are fundamental questions of organogenesis. Decades of work have begun to elucidate how endothelial progenitors arise and home to precise locations within tissues, integrating attractive and repulsive cues to build vessels where they are needed. Conversely, more recent findings have revealed an exciting facet of blood vessel interaction with tissues, where vascular cells provide signals to developing organs and progenitors therein. Here, we discuss the exchange of reciprocal signals between endothelial cells and neighboring tissues during embryogenesis, with a special focus on the developing pancreas. Understanding the mechanisms driving both sides of these interactions will be crucial to the development of therapies, from improving organ regeneration to efficient production of cell based therapies. Specifically, elucidating the interface of the vasculature with pancreatic lineages, including endocrine cells, will instruct approaches such as generation of replacement beta cells for Type I diabetes. WIREs Dev Biol 2016, 5:598-617. doi: 10.1002/wdev.240 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Cell Differentiation; Endothelial Cells; Humans; Organogenesis; Pancreas; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 27328421
DOI: 10.1002/wdev.240 -
Advances in Pharmacology (San Diego,... 2017The vessel wall is composed of distinct cellular layers, yet communication among individual cells within and between layers results in a dynamic and versatile structure.... (Review)
Review
The vessel wall is composed of distinct cellular layers, yet communication among individual cells within and between layers results in a dynamic and versatile structure. The morphogenesis of the normal vascular wall involves a highly regulated process of cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The use of modern developmental biological and genetic approaches has markedly enriched our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these developmental events. Additionally, the application of similar approaches to study diverse vascular diseases has resulted in paradigm-shifting insights into pathogenesis. Further investigations into the biology of vascular cells in development and disease promise to have major ramifications on therapeutic strategies to combat pathologies of the vasculature.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Cell Differentiation; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Vascular Diseases
PubMed: 28212800
DOI: 10.1016/bs.apha.2016.08.001 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Jul 2018Blood vessels are essential for the distribution of oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells, as well as the removal of waste products. In addition to this conventional role... (Review)
Review
Blood vessels are essential for the distribution of oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells, as well as the removal of waste products. In addition to this conventional role as a versatile conduit system, the endothelial cells forming the innermost layer of the vessel wall also possess important signaling capabilities and can control growth, patterning, homeostasis, and regeneration of the surrounding organ. In the skeletal system, blood vessels regulate developmental and regenerative bone formation as well as hematopoiesis by providing vascular niches for hematopoietic stem cells. Here we provide an overview of blood vessel architecture, growth and properties in the healthy, aging, and diseased skeletal system.
Topics: Aging; Blood Vessels; Bone and Bones; Endothelial Cells; Endothelium, Vascular; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Fracture Healing; Humans; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Osteogenesis; Osteonecrosis; Osteoporosis; Receptors, Notch; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
PubMed: 28893838
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a031559 -
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology Dec 2011Blood vessels are essential conduits of nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. The formation of these vessels involves angiogenic sprouting, a complex process... (Review)
Review
Blood vessels are essential conduits of nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. The formation of these vessels involves angiogenic sprouting, a complex process entailing highly integrated cell behaviors and signaling pathways. In this review, we discuss how endothelial cells initiate a vessel sprout through interactions with their environment and with one another, particularly through lateral inhibition. We review the composition of the local environment, which contains an initial set of guidance cues to facilitate the proper outward migration of the sprout as it emerges from a parent vessel. The long-range guidance and sprout stability cues provided by soluble molecules, extracellular matrix components, and interactions with other cell types are also discussed. We also examine emerging evidence for mechanisms that govern sprout fusion with its target and lumen formation.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Endothelial Cells; Humans; Morphogenesis; Neovascularization, Physiologic
PubMed: 22020130
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2011.10.006 -
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences :... Apr 2021The formation of new blood vessels is driven by proliferation of endothelial cells (ECs), elongation of maturing vessel sprouts and ultimately vessel remodeling to... (Review)
Review
The formation of new blood vessels is driven by proliferation of endothelial cells (ECs), elongation of maturing vessel sprouts and ultimately vessel remodeling to create a hierarchically structured vascular system. Vessel regression is an essential process to remove redundant vessel branches in order to adapt the final vessel density to the demands of the surrounding tissue. How exactly vessel regression occurs and whether and to which extent cell death contributes to this process has been in the focus of several studies within the last decade. On top, recent findings challenge our simplistic view of the cell death signaling machinery as a sole executer of cellular demise, as emerging evidences suggest that some of the classic cell death regulators even promote blood vessel formation. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the role of the cell death signaling machinery with a focus on the apoptosis and necroptosis signaling pathways during blood vessel formation in development and pathology.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Cell Death; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 33783563
DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03738-x -
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences :... Jan 2022Blood vessels expand via sprouting angiogenesis, and this process involves numerous endothelial cell behaviors, such as collective migration, proliferation, cell-cell... (Review)
Review
Blood vessels expand via sprouting angiogenesis, and this process involves numerous endothelial cell behaviors, such as collective migration, proliferation, cell-cell junction rearrangements, and anastomosis and lumen formation. Subsequently, blood vessels remodel to form a hierarchical network that circulates blood and delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissue. During this time, endothelial cells become quiescent and form a barrier between blood and tissues that regulates transport of liquids and solutes. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling regulates both proangiogenic and homeostatic endothelial cell behaviors as blood vessels form and mature. Almost 30 years ago, human pedigrees linked BMP signaling to diseases associated with blood vessel hemorrhage and shunts, and recent work greatly expanded our knowledge of the players and the effects of vascular BMP signaling. Despite these gains, there remain paradoxes and questions, especially with respect to how and where the different and opposing BMP signaling outputs are regulated. This review examines endothelial cell BMP signaling in vitro and in vivo and discusses the paradox of BMP signals that both destabilize and stabilize endothelial cell behaviors.
Topics: Animals; Blood Vessels; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; Endothelial Cells; Humans; Intercellular Junctions; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 35044529
DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-04033-z -
Analytical Sciences : the International... 2018The blood vessel is part of the circulatory system, and systemic circulation provides the blood supply to all tissues. Arteries are pathways through which the blood is... (Review)
Review
The blood vessel is part of the circulatory system, and systemic circulation provides the blood supply to all tissues. Arteries are pathways through which the blood is carried, and the capillaries have a key role in material exchange to maintain the tissue environment. Blood vessels have structures appropriate for their functions, and their sizes and cell types are different. In this review, we introduced recent studies of the microfluidic vascular models. The model structures are classified mainly as poly(dimethylsiloxane) and hydrogel microchannels and self-assembled networks. Basic phenomena and functions were realized in vascular models, including fluid shear stress, cell strain, interstitial flow, endothelial permeation, angiogenesis, and thrombosis. In some models, endothelial cells were co-cultured with smooth muscle cells, pericytes, and fibroblasts in an extracellular matrix. Examples of vascular models involving the brain, lung, liver, kidney, placenta, and cancer were also introduced.
Topics: Blood Vessels; Dimethylpolysiloxanes; Humans; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Models, Molecular
PubMed: 29998955
DOI: 10.2116/analsci.17R006