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An alternative step‐wise mechanism for arterial and venous differentiation in mammals
Author(s) -
Wang Rong A.,
Kim Yung Hae,
Lindskog Henrik,
Gallardo Salvador Guevara,
Jelin Eric
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.235.2
Subject(s) - dorsal aorta , notch signaling pathway , genetically modified mouse , vein , mechanism (biology) , medicine , biology , anatomy , transgene , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , signal transduction , genetics , stem cell , gene , physics , quantum mechanics , haematopoiesis
Arterial and venous (AV) differentiation is critical for vascular homeostasis. To understand the mechanism of AV differentiation, we studied the developing dorsal aorta (DA) and cardinal vein (CV) pair. Using transgenic mice, we found that the primordial DA and CV assembled without Notch signaling. Furthermore, the primordial DA was composed of endothelial cells (ECs) lacking arterial markers, suggesting it forms before arterial specification. Later, the primordial DA and CV expressed both arterial and venous markers. We thus propose a model of mammalian AV differentiation, distinct from the current model, where primordial vessels emerge before AV specification, transiently harbor both arterial and venous ECs, and then mature into the ultimate arteries and veins with uniform AV identities. This work was supported by NIH R01 HL075033 to R.A.W., and by a generous grant from the Foundation for Accelerated Vascular Research. This work was also supported in part by a Swedish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship to H.L, T32 HL007544 to S.G.G. and NIH F32 HL097400 to E.J.