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Modeling the early stages of vascular network assembly
Author(s) -
Serini Guido,
Ambrosi Davide,
Giraudo Enrico,
Gamba Andrea,
Preziosi Luigi,
Bussolino Federico
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1093/emboj/cdg176
Subject(s) - biology , microbiology and biotechnology , chemotaxis , mechanism (biology) , endothelial stem cell , cell , basement membrane , vascular network , anatomy , in vitro , receptor , genetics , philosophy , epistemology
In vertebrates, networks of capillary vessels supply tissues with nutrients. Capillary patterns are closely mimicked by endothelial cells cultured on basement membrane proteins that allow single randomly dispersed cells to self‐organize into vascular networks. Here we provide a model including chemoattraction as the fundamental mechanism for cell‐to‐cell communication in order to identify key parameters in the complexity of the formation of vascular patterns. By flanking biological experiments, theoretical insights and numerical simulations, we provide strong evidence that endothelial cell number and the range of activity of a chemoattractant factor regulate vascular network formation and size. We propose a mechanism linking the scale of formed endothelial structures to the range of cell‐to‐cell interaction mediated by the release of chemoattractants.