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Microenvironment drives the endothelial or neural fate of differentiating embryonic stem cells coexpressing neuropilin‐1 and Flk‐1
Author(s) -
Gualandris Anna,
Noghero Alessio,
Geuna Massimo,
Arese Marco,
Valdembri Donatella,
Serini Guido,
Bussolino Federico
Publication year - 2009
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/fj.08-112847
Subject(s) - neuropilin 1 , biology , embryonic stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , neural stem cell , endothelial stem cell , progenitor cell , stem cell , population , neural cell , vasculogenesis , immunology , vascular endothelial growth factor , cell , cancer research , genetics , in vitro , medicine , vegf receptors , environmental health , gene
The observation that the architecture of the cardiovascular and nervous systems is drawn by common guidance cues and the closeness between neural progenitors and endothelial cells in the vascular niche strongly suggests the existence of links between endothelial and neural cell fates. We identified an embryonic stem cell‐derived discrete, nonclonal cell population expressing the two vascular endothelial growth factor receptors neuropilin‐1 (Nrp1) and Flk1 that differentiates in vitro toward endothelial or neural phenotypes depending on microenvironmental cues. When microinjected in the chick embryo, Nrp1 + cells integrate within the host, developing vessels and brain, and acquire endothelial and neural markers, respectively. These results showthat precursors of endothelial cells and precursors of neural cells arise from the same pool of differentiating embryonic stem cells and share the expression of Nrp1 and Flk1. These data reinforce the parallelism between vascular and nervous system at the level of cell fate and commitment and open new perspective in regenerative medicine of neurovascular diseases.—Gualandris, A., Noghero, A., Geuna, M., Arese, M., Valdembri, D., Serini, G., Bussolino, F. Microenvironment drives the endothelial or neural fate of differentiating embryonic stem cells coexpressing neuropilin‐1 and Flk‐1. FASEB J. 23, 68‐78 (2009)