First published online March 15, 2004
Development 131, 703e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Hooking up the blood supply
Multiple cellular processes are coordinated during the development of the
embryonic vasculature to produce a primary vessel network that interfaces
correctly with other embryonic structures. However, little is known about the
signals involved in vascular patterning. On
p. 1503, Hogan and
colleagues propose that the neural tube is a midline signalling centre for
embryonic vascular pattern formation in higher vertebrates. They show first
that, in mice, ectopic neural tubes recruit a perineural vascular plexus
(PNVP), a capillary bed that forms around the developing brain and spinal cord
at midgestation. Next, they report that neural tube expression of VEGFA, a
signalling molecule involved in vascular patterning, is spatially and
temporally correlated with murine PNVP formation. Finally, they test the role
of VEGFA in an explant model and conclude that VEGFA is a necessary component
of the vascular patterning signal produced by the neural tube.
Related articles in Development:
- The neural tube patterns vessels developmentally using the VEGF signaling pathway
- Kelly A. Hogan, Carrie A. Ambler, Deborah L. Chapman, and Victoria L. Bautch
Development 2004 131: 1503-1513.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
