A brain-specific angiogenic mechanism enabled by tip cell specialization.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate organs require locally adapted blood vessels^1,2. The gain of such organotypic vessel specializations is often deemed to be molecularly unrelated to the process of organ vascularization. Here, opposing this model, we reveal a molecular mechanism for brain-specific angiogenesis that operates under the control of Wnt7a/b ligands-well-known blood-brain barrier maturation signals^3-5. The control mechanism relies on Wnt7a/b-dependent expression of Mmp25, which we find is enriched in brain endothelial cells. CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis in zebrafish reveals that this poorly characterized glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored matrix metalloproteinase is selectively required in endothelial tip cells to enable their initial migration across the pial basement membrane lini

SUBMITTER: Schevenels G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11041701 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature