First published online February 10, 2005
Development 132, 503e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Arterial differentiation: the nerve connection
Tissue vascularisation is a highly coordinated process requiring
angiogenesis, arteriovenous differentiation and the patterning of the vascular
network, but the signals responsible for its control, which come from
neighbouring tissues, are largely unknown. On
p. 941, Mukouyama and
co-workers provide the first in vivo evidence that VEGF (vascular endothelial
growth factor) from the peripheral nervous system is necessary for
arteriogenesis. By using transgenic mice in which Vegfa is
conditionally deleted in sensory neurons, motoneurons and/or Schwann cells,
the researchers show that nerve-derived VEGFA is required for arterial
differentiation in the skin of embryonic mouse limbs. Endothelial expression
of neuropilin 1 (NRP1) - a VEGF-induced artery-specific VEGF co-receptor - is
also required, suggesting that a NRP1-mediated positive feedback loop may
promote arteriogenesis. Surprisingly, nerve-vessel alignment is normal in
these mutants, indicating that this alignment, which subsequently patterns the
vasculature, must be mediated by residual levels of VEGFA or by another
nerve-derived signal.
Related articles in Development:
- Peripheral nerve-derived VEGF promotes arterial differentiation via neuropilin 1-mediated positive feedback
- Yoh-suke Mukouyama, Hans-Peter Gerber, Napoleone Ferrara, Chenghua Gu, and David J. Anderson
Development 2005 132: 941-952.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
