The vasculature and limb development

The developing vascular pattern of the embryonic chick limb results from a combination of two properties: the intrinsic self-assembly and branching properties of the vascular cells and the extrinsic information associated with the expanding mitotic population of mesenchymal cells; and the inhibitory factors which restrict the entrance of vessels into particular domains and/or decrease the branching frequency of such vessels. It is hypothesized that an important component of limb pattern formation is the interplay between the dividing population of mesenchymal cells and the intrinsic properties of the vascular cells. It is further asserted that the presence of particular vascular elements may, indeed, be 'positional information'. Two examples are cited involving aspects of limb duplication to support this possibility; it is suggested that vascular vessel size of a host limb may dictate the polarity of duplication events. The presented hypothesis emphasizes that the interplay between the intrinsic properties of self-assembly into tissues and extrinsic factors which establish boundaries and morphologies is involved in both vascular and limb pattern formation.