First published online June 27, 2005
Development 132, 1405e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Enlarging vessels the angiopoietin way
The development of the vascular system begins with the proliferation,
coalescence and sprouting of endothelial cells to form a nexus of
undifferentiated microvessels. This is remodeled in a poorly understood
process to form a network of different-sized vessels. Now, on
p. 3317, Thurston and
colleagues show that angiopoietin 1, unlike other vascular growth factors,
induces circumferential vessel enlargement without inducing angiogenic
sprouting. They report that the treatment of neonatal mice and rats with
angiopoietin 1 causes blood vessels to enlarge specifically on the venous side
of the circulation. This enlargement, which only occurs during a brief
postnatal period, is associated with endothelial cell proliferation. The
identification of the molecular factors that regulate vessel plasticity, the
researchers suggest, could be crucial for developing new pro- and
anti-angiogenic therapies.
Related articles in Development:
- Angiopoietin 1 causes vessel enlargement, without angiogenic sprouting, during a critical developmental period
- Gavin Thurston, Quan Wang, Fabienne Baffert, John Rudge, Nicholas Papadopoulos, Danielle Jean-Guillaume, Stanley Wiegand, George D. Yancopoulos, and Donald M. McDonald
Development 2005 132: 3317-3326.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
