Open AccessEndothelial cells are progenitors of cardiac pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells
Author(s) -
Qi Chen,
Hui Zhang,
Yang Liu,
Susanne Adams,
Hanna M. Eilken,
Martin Stehling,
Monica Corada,
Elisabetta Dejana,
Bin Zhou,
Ralf H. Adams
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
nature communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.559
H-Index - 365
ISSN - 2041-1723
DOI - 10.1038/ncomms12422
Subject(s) - mural cell , progenitor cell , microbiology and biotechnology , mesenchymal stem cell , wnt signaling pathway , biology , pericyte , vascular smooth muscle , endothelial stem cell , vascular endothelial growth factor b , population , stem cell , vascular endothelial growth factor , cancer research , signal transduction , vascular endothelial growth factor a , medicine , smooth muscle , endocrinology , in vitro , genetics , environmental health , vegf receptors
Mural cells of the vessel wall, namely pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, are essential for vascular integrity. The developmental sources of these cells and molecular mechanisms controlling their progenitors in the heart are only partially understood. Here we show that endocardial endothelial cells are progenitors of pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells in the murine embryonic heart. Endocardial cells undergo endothelial–mesenchymal transition and convert into primitive mesenchymal progenitors expressing the platelet-derived growth factor receptors, PDGFRα and PDGFRβ. These progenitors migrate into the myocardium, differentiate and assemble the wall of coronary vessels, which requires canonical Wnt signalling involving Frizzled4, β-catenin and endothelial cell-derived Wnt ligands. Our findings identify a novel and unexpected population of progenitors for coronary mural cells with potential relevance for heart function and disease conditions.