Abstract
Blood vessel development is in part regulated by pericytes/presumptive vascular smooth muscle cells (PC/pvSMCs). Here, we demonstrate that interactions between PC/pvSMCs and extracellular matrix play a critical role in this event. We show that the cranial vessels in α4 integrin-deficient mouse embryos at the stage of vessel remodeling are increased in diameter. This defect is accompanied by a failure of PC/pvSMCs, which normally express α4β1 integrin, to spread uniformly along the vessels. We also find that fibronectin but not VCAM-1 is localized in the cranial vessels at this stage. Furthermore, cultured α4 integrin-null PC/pvSMCs plated on fibronectin display a delay in initiating migration, a reduction in migration speed, and a decrease in directional persistence in response to a polarized force of shear flow. These results suggest that specific motile activities of PC/pvSMCs regulated by mechanical signals imposed by the interstitial extracellular matrix may also be required in vivo for the distribution and function of the PC/pvSMCs during blood vessel development.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 165-177 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Developmental biology |
Volume | 293 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2006 |
Keywords
- Blood vessel development
- Cell motility
- Fibronectin
- Pericyte
- Presumptive vascular smooth muscle cell
- α4β1 integrin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology