Vascular Development

The formation of blood vessels is an essential aspect of embryogenesis in vertebrates. It is a central feature of numerous post-embryonic processes, including tissue and organ growth and regeneration. It is also part of the pathology of tumour formation and certain inflammatory conditions. In recent years, comprehension of the molecular genetics of blood vessel formation has progressed enormously and studies in vertebrate model systems, especially the mouse and the zebrafish, have identified a common set of molecules and processes that are conserved throughout vertebrate embryogenesis while, in addition, highlighting aspects that may differ between different animal groups. The discovery in the past decade of the crucial role of new blood vessel formation for the development of cancers has generated great interest in angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones), with its major implications for potential cancer-control strategies. In addition, there are numerous situations where therapeutic treatments either require or would be assisted by vasculogenesis (the de novo formation of blood vessels). In particular, post-stroke therapies could include treatments that stimulate neovascularization of the affected tissues. The development of such treatments, however, requires thoroughly understanding the developmental properties of endothelial cells and the basic biology of blood vessel formation. While there are many books on angiogenesis, this unique book focuses on exactly this basic biology and explores blood vessel formation in connection with tissue development in a range of animal models. It includes detailed discussions of relevant cell biology, genetics and embryogenesis of blood vessel formation and presents insights into the cross-talk between developing blood vessels and other tissues. With contributions from vascular biologists, cell biologists and developmental biologists, a comprehensive and highly interdisciplinary volume is the outcome.

Christer Betsholtz Chair’s introduction 1 Maria Grazia Lampugnani and Elisabetta Dejana The control of endothelial cell functions by adherens junctions 4 Discussion 13 Maike Schmidt, Ann De Mazière, Tanya Smyczek, Alane Gray, Leon Parker, Ellen Filvaroff, Dorothy French, Suzanne van Dijk, Judith Klumperman and Weilan Ye The role of Egfl 7 in vascular morphogenesis 18 Discussion 28 Max Levin, Andrew J. Ewald, Martin McMahon, Zena Werb and Keith Mostov A model of intussusceptive angiogenesis 37 Discussion 42 Tomáš Kucera, Jan Eglinger, Boris Strilic and Eckhard Lammert Vascular lumen formation from a cell biological perspective 46 Discussion 56 Christopher J. Drake, Paul A. Fleming and W. Scott Argraves The genetics of vasculogenesis 61 Discussion 71 Steven Suchting, Catarina Freitas, Ferdinand le Noble, Rui Benedito, Christiane Bréant, Antonio Duarte and Anne Eichmann Negative regulators of vessel patterning 77 Discussion 80 Taija Mäkinen and Kari Alitalo Lymphangiogenesis in development and disease 87 Discussion 98 Irene Noguera-Troise, Christopher Daly, Nicholas J. Papadopoulos, Sandra Coetzee, Pat Boland, Nicholas W. Gale, Hsin Chieh Lin, George D. Yancopoulos and Gavin Thurston Blockade of Dll4 inhibits tumour growth by promoting non-productive angiogenesis 106 Discussion 121 Georg Breier, Alexander H. Licht, Anke Nicolaus, Anne Klotzsche, Ben Wielockx and Zuzana Kirsnerova HIF in vascular development and tumour angiogenesis 126 Discussion 133 Karina Yaniv, Sumio Isogai, Daniel Castranova, Louis Dye, Jiro Hitomi and Brant M. Weinstein Imaging the developing lymphatic system using the zebrafish 139 Discussion 148 Frances High and Jonathan A. Epstein Signalling pathways regulating cardiac neural crest migration and differentiation 152 Discussion 161 Ralf H. Adams Investigation of the angiogenic programme with tissue-specific and inducible genetic approaches in mice 165 Discussion 171 Gary K. Owens Molecular control of vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation and phenotypic plasticity 174 Discussion 191 Andrea Lundkvist, Sunyoung Lee, Luisa Iruela-Arispe, Christer Betsholtz and Holger Gerhardt Growth factor gradients in vascular patterning 194 Discussion 201 Deborah A. Freedman, Yasushige Kashima and Kenneth S. Zaret Endothelial cell promotion of early liver and pancreas development 207 Discussion 216 Jörg Wilting, Kerstin Buttler, Jochen Rössler, Susanne Norgall, Lothar Schweigerer, Herbert A. Weich and Maria Papoutsi Embryonic development and malformation of lymphatic vessels 220 Discussion 227 Joaquim Miguel Vieira, Quenten Schwarz and Christiana Ruhrberg Role of the neuropilin ligands VEGF164 and SEMA3A in neuronal and vascular patterning in the mouse 230 Discussion 235 Final discussion 238 Tracheal tube development in Drosophila 238 Closing remarks 240 Contributor index 242 Subject index 244