PUBLICATION
Cellular and molecular analyses of vascular tube and lumen formation in zebrafish
- Authors
- Jin, S.W., Beis, D., Mitchell, T., Chen, J.N., Stainier, D.Y.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-051031-2
- Date
- 2005
- Source
- Development (Cambridge, England) 132(23): 5199-5209 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Beis, Dimitris, Chen, Jau-Nian, Jin, Suk-Won, Stainier, Didier
- Keywords
- Endothelial cell, Migration, Endoderm, VEGF, Angioblast, Zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
-
- Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
- Zebrafish
- Blood Vessels/cytology*
- Blood Vessels/embryology
- Blood Vessels/growth & development*
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2/genetics
- Stem Cells/cytology
- Animals
- Cell Movement
- Embryo, Nonmammalian
- Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Intercellular Junctions/physiology
- Endothelial Cells/cytology
- Body Patterning
- Endoderm/physiology
- PubMed
- 16251212 Full text @ Development
Citation
Jin, S.W., Beis, D., Mitchell, T., Chen, J.N., Stainier, D.Y. (2005) Cellular and molecular analyses of vascular tube and lumen formation in zebrafish. Development (Cambridge, England). 132(23):5199-5209.
Abstract
Tube and lumen formation are essential steps in forming a functional vasculature. Despite their significance, our understanding of these processes remains limited, especially at the cellular and molecular levels. In this study, we analyze mechanisms of angioblast coalescence in the zebrafish embryonic midline and subsequent vascular tube formation. To facilitate these studies, we generated a transgenic line where EGFP expression is controlled by the zebrafish flk1 promoter. We find that angioblasts migrate as individual cells to form a vascular cord at the midline. This transient structure is stabilized by endothelial cell-cell junctions, and subsequently undergoes lumen formation to form a fully patent vessel. Downregulating the VEGF signaling pathway, while affecting the number of angioblasts, does not appear to affect their migratory behavior. Our studies also indicate that the endoderm, a tissue previously implicated in vascular development, provides a substratum for endothelial cell migration and is involved in regulating the timing of this process, but that it is not essential for the direction of migration. In addition, the endothelial cells in endodermless embryos form properly lumenized vessels, contrary to what has been previously reported in Xenopus and avian embryos. These studies provide the tools and a cellular framework for the investigation of mutations affecting vasculogenesis in zebrafish.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping