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Sclerotomal origin of smooth muscle cells in the wall of the avian dorsal aorta
Author(s) -
Wiegreffe Christoph,
Christ Bodo,
Huang Ruijin,
Scaal Martin
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.21279
Subject(s) - dorsal aorta , anatomy , biology , aorta , paraxial mesoderm , quail , neural crest , mesoderm , lateral plate mesoderm , embryo , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , embryonic stem cell , endocrinology , stem cell , genetics , haematopoiesis , gene
The dorsal aorta is the earliest formed intraembryonic blood vessel. It is composed of an inner lining consisting of endothelial cells and an outer wall consisting of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and fibrocytes. Aortic SMCs have been suggested to arise from several developmental lineages. Cephalic neural crest provides SMCs of the proximal part of the aorta, and SMCs of the distal part are derived from the paraxial mesoderm. Here, we show by using quail‐chick chimerization that in the avian embryo, SMCs in the wall of the dorsal aorta at trunk level arise from the sclerotome. Our findings indicate a two‐step process of aortic wall formation. First, non‐paraxial mesoderm‐derived mural cells accumulate at the floor of the aorta. We refer to these cells as primary SMCs. Second, SMCs from the sclerotome are recruited to the roof and sides of the aorta, eventually replacing the primary SMCs in the aortic floor. Developmental Dynamics 236:2578–2585, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.