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First published online March 1, 2004

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A rush of blood to the brain

Haemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel bursts within the brain, is frequently associated with intracranial vascular malformations. On p. 1437, Whitehead et al. turn the developmental spotlight onto one such malformation - cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM). Human CCM is characterised by enlarged, thin-walled vascular structures in the central nervous system and has been linked to loss-of-function mutations in the CCM1 locus. Whitehead and colleagues report that the earliest defects in Ccm1^-/- mouse embryos (seen at E8.5) are vascular; in particular, the precursor vessels of the brain become dilated. These defects are reminiscent of human CCMs and are associated with disruption of arterial specification. Consistent with this, expression of Notch4, a marker of arterial specification, is downregulated in the arterioles of people with CCM1 mutations. Thus, CCM may result from defects in arterial specification and the authors suggest that the same may be true for other vascular malformations.

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Related articles in Development:

Ccm1 is required for arterial morphogenesis: implications for the etiology of human cavernous malformations

Kevin J. Whitehead, Nicholas W. Plummer, Jennifer A. Adams, Douglas A. Marchuk, and Dean Y. Li
Development 2004 131: 1437-1448. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?