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Endothelial cell diversity revealed by global expression profiling

ABSTRACT: The vascular system is locally specialized to accommodate widely varying blood flow and pressure and the distinct needs of individual tissues. The endothelial cells (ECs) that line the lumens of blood and lymphatic vessels play an integral role in the regional specialization of vascular structure and physiology. However, our understanding of EC diversity is limited. To explore EC specialization on a global scale, we used DNA microarrays to determine the expression profile of 53 cultured ECs. We found that ECs from different blood vessels and microvascular ECs from different tissues have distinct and characteristic gene expression profiles. Pervasive differences in gene expression patterns distinguish the ECs of large vessels from microvascular ECs. We identified groups of genes characteristic of arterial and venous endothelium. Hey2, the human homologue of the zebrafish gene gridlock, was selectively expressed in arterial ECs and induced the expression of several arterial-specific genes. Several genes critical in the establishment of left/right asymmetry were expressed preferentially in venous ECs, suggesting coordination between vascular differentiation and body plan development. Tissue-specific expression patterns in different tissue microvascular ECs suggest they are distinct differentiated cell types that play roles in the local physiology of their respective organs and tissues. A development or differentiation experiment design type assays events associated with development or differentiation or moving through a life cycle. Development applies to organism(s) acquiring a mature state, and differentiation applies to cells acquiring specialized functions. Keywords: development_or_differentiation_design

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE3874 | GEO | 2005/12/21

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA94109

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Formation and maturation of a functional blood vascular system is required for the development and maintenance of all tissues in the body. During the process of blood vessel development, primordial endothelial cells are formed and become specified toward arterial or venous fates to generate a circulatory network that provides nutrients and oxygen to, and removes metabolic waste from, all tissues. Specification of arterial and venous endothelial cells occurs in conjunction with suppression of endothelial cell cycle progression, and endothelial cell hyperproliferation is associated with potentially lethal arterial-venous malformations. However, the mechanistic role that cell cycle state plays in arterial-venous specification is unknown. Herein, studying retinal vascular development in Cdh5-CreERT2;R26FUCCI2aR reporter mice, we found that venous and arterial endothelial cells are in distinct cell cycle states during development and in adulthood. That is, venous endothelial cells reside in early G1 state, while arterial endothelial cells reside in late G1 state. Single cell RNA sequencing of developing retinal endothelial cells revealed that BMP signaling and early G1 state are enriched in venous endothelial cells, while TGF-b signaling and late G1 state are enriched in arterial endothelial cells. Cultured endothelial cells in early vs. late G1 exhibited significant differences in gene expression and activity, especially among BMP/TGF-b signaling components. The early G1 state was found to be essential for BMP4-induced venous gene expression, whereas late G1 state is essential for TGF-b1-induced arterial gene expression. In a mouse model of endothelial cell hyperproliferation and disrupted arterial-venous specification, pharmacological inhibition of endothelial cell cycle prevented the vascular defects. Collectively, our results show that endothelial cell cycle control plays a key role in arterial-venous network formation, and distinct cell cycle states provide distinct windows of opportunity for the molecular induction of arterial vs. venous specification.

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Endothelial cell diversity revealed by global expression profiling

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