Notch signaling in regulating angiogenesis in a 3D biomimetic environment.

ABSTRACT: Angiogenesis is a complex cellular process involving highly orchestrated invasion and organization of endothelial cells (ECs) in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. Recent evidence indicates that Notch signaling is critically involved in regulating specialized functions and distinct fates of ECs in newly formed vasculatures during angiogenesis. Here, we demonstrated, for the first time, the application of a microengineered biomimetic system to quantitatively investigate the role of Notch signaling in regulating early angiogenic sprouting and vasculature formation of ECs in a 3D extracellular matrix. Morphological features of angiogenesis including invasion distance, invasion area, and tip cell number were quantified and compared under pharmacological perturbations of Notch signaling. In

SUBMITTER: Zheng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6223016 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature