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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2005;25:2246.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Brief Reviews

Mechanisms of Endothelial Differentiation in Embryonic Vasculogenesis

J.E. Ferguson, III; Rusty W. Kelley; Cam Patterson

From the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center (J.E.F., R.W.K., C.P.) and the Departments of Medicine (C.P.), Pharmacology (J.E.F., C.P.), and Cell and Developmental Biology (C.P.), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

Address correspondence to Cam Patterson, MD, Director, Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center, and Division of Cardiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 8200 Medical Biomolecular Research Bldg, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7126. E-mail cpatters{at}med.unc.edu

Series Editor: Stephanie Dimmeler
ATVB In Focus

Novel Mediators and Mechanisms in Angiogenesis and Vasculogenesis

The formation of new blood vessels in the adult organism not only contributes to the progression of diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy but also can be promoted in therapeutic approaches to various ischemic pathologies. Because many of the signals important to blood vessel development during embryogenesis are recapitulated during adult blood vessel formation, much work has been performed to better-understand the molecular control of endothelial differentiation in the developing embryo. In this review, we describe the current understanding of where endothelial differentiation from pluripotent progenitor cells occurs during development, how this process is controlled at the molecular level, and what model systems can be used to investigate the earliest steps of blood vessel formation.

The formation of new blood vessels in the adult organism not only contributes to the progression of diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy but also can be promoted in therapeutic approaches to various ischemic pathologies. In this review, we describe the current understanding of where endothelial differentiation from pluripotent progenitor cells occurs during development, how this process is controlled at the molecular level, and what model systems can be used to investigate the earliest steps of blood vessel formation.

Key Words: development • endothelium • vasculogenesis • embryogenesis

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ATVB in Focus: Novel Mediators and Mechanisms in Angiogenesis and Vasculogenesis

Stefanie Dimmeler
Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 2005 25: 2245. [Full Text] [PDF]

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