Cell lineages and early patterns of embryonic CNS vascularization

First steps of blood vessel formation and patterning in the central nervous system (CNS) of higher vertebrates are presented. Corresponding to the regional diversity of the embryonic CNS (unsegmented spinal cord vs. segmented brain anlagen) and its surroundings (segmented trunk vs. unsegmented head mesoderm, neural crest-derived mesenchyme), cells of different origins contribute to the endothelial and mural cell populations. The autonomous migratory potential of endothelial cells is guided by attractive and repulsive clues. Nevertheless, a common pattern in both spinal cord and forebrain vascularization appears, with primary ventral vascular sprouts supplying the periventricular vascular plexus of the neural tube, whereas dorsolateral sprouts appear later.     

The neural tube patterns vessels developmentally using the VEGF signaling pathway

Embryonic blood vessels form in a reproducible pattern that interfaces with other embryonic structures and tissues, but the sources and identities of signals that pattern vessels are not well characterized. We hypothesized that the neural tube provides vascular patterning signal(s) that direct formation of the perineural vascular plexus (PNVP) that encompasses the neural tube at mid-gestation. Both surgically placed ectopic neural tubes and ectopic neural tubes engineered genetically were able to recruit a vascular plexus, showing that the neural tube is the source of a vascular patterning signal. In mouse-quail chimeras with the graft separated from the neural tube by a buffer of host cells, graft-derived vascular cells contributed to the PNVP, indicating that the neural tube signal(s) can act at a distance. Murine neural tube vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression was temporally and spatially correlated with PNVP formation, suggesting it is a component of the neural tube signal. A collagen explant model was developed in which presomitic mesoderm explants formed a vascular plexus in the presence of added VEGFA. Co-cultures between presomitic mesoderm and neural tube also supported vascular plexus formation, indicating that the neural tube could replace the requirement for VEGFA. Moreover, a combination of pharmacological and genetic perturbations showed that VEGFA signaling through FLK1 is a required component of the neural tube vascular patterning signal. Thus, the neural tube is the first structure identified as a midline signaling center for embryonic vascular pattern formation in higher vertebrates, and VEGFA is a necessary component of the neural tube vascular patterning signal. These data suggest a model whereby embryonic structures with little or no capacity for angioblast generation act as a nexus for vessel patterning.     

Segmental lineage restrictions in the chick embryo spinal cord depend on the adjacent somites.

We have investigated whether the developing spinal cord is intrinsically segmented in its rostrocaudal (anteroposterior) axis by mapping the spread of clones derived from single labelled cells within the neural tube of the chick embryo. A single cell in the ventrolateral neural tube of the trunk was marked in situ with the fluorescent tracer lysinated rhodamine dextran (LRD) and its descendants located after two days of further incubation. We find that clones derived from cells labelled before overt segmentation of the adjacent mesoderm do not respect any boundaries within the neural tube. Those derived from cells marked after mesodermal segmentation, however, never cross an invisible boundary aligned with the middle of each somite, and tend to be elongated along the mediolateral axis of the neural tube. When the somite pattern is surgically disturbed, neighbouring clones derived from neuroectodermal cells labelled after somite formation behave like clones derived from younger cells: they no longer respect any boundaries, and are not elongated mediolaterally. These results indicate that periodic lineage restrictions do exist in the developing spinal cord of the chick embryo, but their maintenance requires the presence of the adjacent somite mesoderm.     

Integration and Long Distance Axonal Regeneration in the Central Nervous System from Transplanted Primitive Neural Stem Cells

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in devastating motor and sensory deficits secondary to disrupted neuronal circuits and poor regenerative potential. Efforts to promote regeneration through cell extrinsic and intrinsic manipulations have met with limited success. Stem cells represent an as yet unrealized therapy in SCI. Recently, we identified novel culture methods to induce and maintain primitive neural stem cells (pNSCs) from human embryonic stem cells. We tested whether transplanted human pNSCs can integrate into the CNS of the developing chick neural tube and injured adult rat spinal cord. Following injection of pNSCs into the developing chick CNS, pNSCs integrated into the dorsal aspects of the neural tube, forming cell clusters that spontaneously differentiated into neurons. Furthermore, following transplantation of pNSCs into the lesioned rat spinal cord, grafted pNSCs survived, differentiated into neurons, and extended long distance axons through the scar tissue at the graft-host interface and into the host spinal cord to form terminal-like structures near host spinal neurons. Together, these findings suggest that pNSCs derived from human embryonic stem cells differentiate into neuronal cell types with the potential to extend axons that associate with circuits of the CNS and, more importantly, provide new insights into CNS integration and axonal regeneration, offering hope for repair in SCI.     

Vasculogenesis and angiogenesis: two distinct morphogenetic mechanisms establish embryonic vascular pattern

We are using a monoclonal antibody, QH-1, as a label for angioblasts in quail embryos to study vascular development. Our previous experiments showed that major embryonic blood vessels, such as the dorsal aortae and posterior cardinal veins, develop from angioblasts of mesodermal origin that appear in the body of the embryo proper (Coffin and Poole: Development, 102:735-748, '88). We theorized that there are two separate processes for blood vessel development that occur in quail embryos. One mechanism termed "vasculogenesis" forms blood vessels in place by the aggregation of angioblasts into a cord. The other mechanism, termed "angiogenesis," is the formation of new vessels by sprouting of capillaries from existing vessels. Here we report the results of microsurgical transplantation experiments designed to determine the extent of cell migration taking place during blood vessel formation. Comparison of the chimeras to normal embryos suggests that the vascular pattern develops, in part, from the normally restricted points of entry of angioblasts into the head from the ventral and dorsal aortae. Transplantations of quail mesoderm (1-15 somite stage) into the head of 5-15 somite chick hosts resulted in extensive sprouting and in migration of single and small groups of angioblasts away from the graft sites. Transplantations into the trunk resulted in incorporation of the graft into the normal vascular pattern of the host. Lateral plate mesoderm was incorporated into the dorsal aortae and individual sprouts grew between somites and along the neural tube to contribute to the intersomitic and vertebral arteries, respectively.     

Angiogenesis in the Developing Spinal Cord: Blood Vessel Exclusion from Neural Progenitor Region Is Mediated by VEGF and Its Antagonists

Blood vessels in the central nervous system supply a considerable amount of oxygen via intricate vascular networks. We studied how the initial vasculature of the spinal cord is formed in avian (chicken and quail) embryos. Vascular formation in the spinal cord starts by the ingression of intra-neural vascular plexus (INVP) from the peri-neural vascular plexus (PNVP) that envelops the neural tube. At the ventral region of the PNVP, the INVP grows dorsally in the neural tube, and we observed that these vessels followed the defined path at the interface between the medially positioned and undifferentiated neural progenitor zone and the laterally positioned differentiated zone. When the interface between these two zones was experimentally displaced, INVP faithfully followed a newly formed interface, suggesting that the growth path of the INVP is determined by surrounding neural cells. The progenitor zone expressed mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor-A whereas its receptor VEGFR2 and FLT-1 (VEGFR1), a decoy for VEGF, were expressed in INVP. By manipulating the neural tube with either VEGF or the soluble form of FLT-1, we found that INVP grew in a VEGF-dependent manner, where VEGF signals appear to be fine-tuned by counteractions with anti-angiogenic activities including FLT-1 and possibly semaphorins. These results suggest that the stereotypic patterning of early INVP is achieved by interactions between these vessels and their surrounding neural cells, where VEGF and its antagonists play important roles.     

Homocysteine modifies development of neurulation and dorsal root ganglia in chick embryos

BACKGROUND: The formation of the neural tube (neurulation) involves two mechanisms: primary and secondary neurulation. In chicks, there is also an overlap zone, where both mechanisms work together. Homocysteine (Hcy) may have an important teratogenic role in neural tube defects (NTD) when folic acid levels are considered normal. Recently, Hcy capability to generate NTD and modify neural crest cell migration has been demonstrated in chick embryos. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of Hcy on neurulation and the development of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). METHODS: Chick embryos were treated with L-Hcy thiolactone 20 micromol to produce the highest rate of survival with embryos carrying neural tube defect (NTD) in the spine. Embryos at stages (st) 3-10 were treated and harvested at st 18-23. Only externally normal embryos or those carrying spinal NTD embryos were considered. RESULTS: Histological sections of Hcy-treated embryos showed: open spina bifida (39% of embryos), more than one tube forming the spinal cord (26%), disorganized spinal cord (26%), always affecting lumbosacral regions, probably in the overlap zone. Additionally, 32% of embryos had small and continuous DRG, associated with a slimmed roof plate. Three-dimensional reconstruction showed unsegmented DRG until the C8 ganglion level. There was a 75% reduction of C3 DRG cells in treated embryos in comparison to untreated ganglia. CONCLUSION: Hcy teratogenicity in avian embryos affected the neural tube in the overlap zone, secondary neurulation and the cervical DRG.     

A two-way communication between microglial cells and angiogenic sprouts regulates angiogenesis in aortic ring cultures

Background

Myeloid cells have been associated with physiological and pathological angiogenesis, but their exact functions in these processes remain poorly defined. Monocyte-derived tissue macrophages of the CNS, or microglial cells, invade the mammalian retina before it becomes vascularized. Recent studies correlate the presence of microglia in the developing CNS with vascular network formation, but it is not clear whether the effect is directly caused by microglia and their contact with the endothelium.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We combined in vivo studies of the developing mouse retina with in vitro studies using the aortic ring model to address the role of microglia in developmental angiogenesis. Our in vivo analyses are consistent with previous findings that microglia are present at sites of endothelial tip-cell anastomosis, and genetic ablation of microglia caused a sparser vascular network associated with reduced number of filopodia-bearing sprouts. Addition of microglia in the aortic ring model was sufficient to stimulate vessel sprouting. The effect was independent of physical contact between microglia and endothelial cells, and could be partly mimicked using microglial cell-conditioned medium. Addition of VEGF-A promoted angiogenic sprouts of different morphology in comparison with the microglial cells, and inhibition of VEGF-A did not affect the microglia-induced angiogenic response, arguing that the proangiogenic factor(s) released by microglia is distinct from VEGF-A. Finally, microglia exhibited oriented migration towards the vessels in the aortic ring cultures.

Conclusions/Significance

Microglia stimulate vessel sprouting in the aortic ring cultures via a soluble microglial-derived product(s), rather than direct contact with endothelial cells. The observed migration of microglia towards the growing sprouts suggests that their position near endothelial tip-cells could result from attractive cues secreted by the vessels. Our data reveals a two-way communication between microglia and vessels that depends on soluble factors and should extend the understanding of how microglia promote vascular network formation.     

Blood Flow Changes Coincide with Cellular Rearrangements during Blood Vessel Pruning in Zebrafish Embryos

After the initial formation of a highly branched vascular plexus, blood vessel pruning generates a hierarchically structured network with improved flow characteristics. We report here on the cellular events that occur during the pruning of a defined blood vessel in the eye of developing zebrafish embryos. Time-lapse imaging reveals that the connection of a new blood vessel sprout with a previously perfused multicellular endothelial tube leads to the formation of a branched, Y-shaped structure. Subsequently, endothelial cells in parts of the previously perfused branch rearrange from a multicellular into a unicellular tube, followed by blood vessel detachment. This process is accompanied by endothelial cell death. Finally, we show that differences in blood flow between neighboring vessels are important for the completion of the pruning process. Our data suggest that flow induced changes in tubular architecture ensure proper blood vessel pruning.     

A Functional Requirement for Astroglia in Promoting Blood Vessel Development in the Early Postnatal Brain

Astroglia are a major cell type in the brain and play a key role in many aspects of brain development and function. In the adult brain, astrocytes are known to intimately ensheath blood vessels and actively coordinate local neural activity and blood flow. During development of the neural retina, blood vessel growth follows a meshwork of astrocytic processes. Several genes have also been implicated in retinal astrocytes for regulating vessel development. This suggests a role of astrocytes in promoting angiogenesis throughout the central nervous system. To determine the roles that astrocytes may play during brain angiogenesis, we employ genetic approaches to inhibit astrogliogenesis during perinatal corticogenesis and examine its effects on brain vessel development. We find that conditional deletion from glial progenitors of orc3, a gene required for DNA replication, dramatically reduces glial progenitor cell number in the subventricular zone and astrocytes in the early postnatal cerebral cortex. This, in turn, results in severe reductions in both the density and branching frequency of cortical blood vessels. Consistent with a delayed growth but not regression of vessels, we find neither significant net decreases in vessel density between different stages after normalizing for cortical expansion nor obvious apoptosis of endothelial cells in these mutants. Furthermore, concomitant with loss of astroglial interactions, we find increased endothelial cell proliferation, enlarged vessel luminal size as well as enhanced cytoskeletal gene expression in pericytes, which suggests compensatory changes in vascular cells. Lastly, we find that blood vessel morphology in mutant cortices recovers substantially at later stages, following astrogliosis. These results thus implicate a functional requirement for astroglia in promoting blood vessel growth during brain development.     

Selective ablation of alphav integrins in the central nervous system leads to cerebral hemorrhage, seizures, axonal degeneration and premature death

Mouse embryos genetically null for all alphav integrins develop intracerebral hemorrhage owing to defective interactions between blood vessels and brain parenchymal cells. Here, we have used conditional knockout technology to address whether the cerebral hemorrhage is due to primary defects in vascular or neural cell types. We show that ablating alphav expression in the vascular endothelium has no detectable effect on cerebral blood vessel development, whereas deletion of alphav expression in central nervous system glial cells leads to embryonic and neonatal cerebral hemorrhage. Conditional deletion of alphav integrin in both central nervous system glia and neurons also leads to cerebral hemorrhage, but additionally to severe neurological defects. Approximately 30% of these mutants develop seizures and die by 4 weeks of age. The remaining mutants survive for several months, but develop axonal deterioration in the spinal cord and cerebellum, leading to ataxia and loss of hindlimb coordination. Collectively, these data provide evidence that alphav integrins on embryonic central nervous system neural cells, particularly glia, are necessary for proper cerebral blood vessel development, and also reveal a novel function for alphav integrins expressed on axons in the postnatal central nervous system.     

Pro-angiogenic signaling by the endothelial presence of CEACAM1

Here, we demonstrate the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule-1 (CEACAM1) in angiogenic sprouts but not in large mother blood vessels within tumor tissue. Correspondingly, only human microvascular endothelial cells involved in in vitro tube formation exhibit CEACAM1. CEACAM1-overexpressing versus CEACAM1-silenced human microvascular endothelial cells were used in migration and tube formation assays. CEACAM1-overexpressing microvascular endothelial cells showed prolonged survival and increased tube formation when they were stimulated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), whereas CEACAM1 silencing via small interfering RNA blocks these effects. Gene array and LightCycler analyses show an up-regulation of angiogenic factors such as VEGF, VEGF receptor 2, angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, tie-2, angiogenin, and interleukin-8 but a down-regulation of collagen XVIII/endostatin and Tie-1 in CEACAM1-overexpressing microvascular endothelial cells. Western blot analyses confirm these results for VEGF and endostatin at the protein level. These results suggest that constitutive expression of CEACAM1 in microvascular endothelial cells switches them to an angiogenic phenotype, whereas CEACAM1 silencing apparently abrogates the VEGF-induced morphogenetic effects during capillary formation. Thus, strategies targeting the endothelial up-regulation of CEACAM1 might be promising for antiangiogenic tumor therapy.     

Early radiation-induced endothelial cell loss and blood-spinal cord barrier breakdown in the rat spinal cord

Using a rat spinal cord model, this study was designed to characterize radiation-induced vascular endothelial cell loss and its relationship to early blood-brain barrier disruption in the central nervous system. Adult rats were given a single dose of 0, 2, 8, 19.5, 22, 30 or 50 Gy to the cervical spinal cord. At various times up to 2 weeks after irradiation, the spinal cord was processed for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Radiation-induced apoptosis was assessed by morphology and TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling combined with immunohistochemical markers for endothelial and glial cells. Image analysis was performed to determine endothelial cell and microvessel density using immunohistochemistry with endothelial markers, namely endothelial barrier antigen, glucose transporter isoform 1, laminin and zonula occludens 1. Blood-spinal cord barrier permeability was assessed using immunohistochemistry for albumin and (99m)Tc-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid as a vascular tracer. Endothelial cell proliferation was assessed using in vivo BrdU labeling. During the first 24 h after irradiation, apoptotic endothelial cells were observed in the rat spinal cord. The decrease in endothelial cell density at 24 h after irradiation was associated with an increase in albumin immunostaining around microvessels. The decrease in the number of endothelial cells persisted for 7 days and recovery of endothelial density was apparent by day 14. A similar pattern of blood-spinal cord barrier disruption and recovery of permeability was observed over the 2 weeks, and an increase in BrdU-labeled endothelial cells was seen at day 3. These results are consistent with an association between endothelial cell death and acute blood-spinal cord barrier disruption in the rat spinal cord after irradiation.     

VEGF guides angiogenic sprouting utilizing endothelial tip cell filopodia

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) is a major regulator of blood vessel formation and function. It controls several processes in endothelial cells, such as proliferation, survival, and migration, but it is not known how these are coordinately regulated to result in more complex morphogenetic events, such as tubular sprouting, fusion, and network formation. We show here that VEGF-A controls angiogenic sprouting in the early postnatal retina by guiding filopodial extension from specialized endothelial cells situated at the tips of the vascular sprouts. The tip cells respond to VEGF-A only by guided migration; the proliferative response to VEGF-A occurs in the sprout stalks. These two cellular responses are both mediated by agonistic activity of VEGF-A on VEGF receptor 2. Whereas tip cell migration depends on a gradient of VEGF-A, proliferation is regulated by its concentration. Thus, vessel patterning during retinal angiogenesis depends on the balance between two different qualities of the extracellular VEGF-A distribution, which regulate distinct cellular responses in defined populations of endothelial cells.     

The Angiogenic Effect of microRNA-21 Targeting TIMP3 through the Regulation of MMP2 and MMP9

microRNAs are a novel set of small, non-protein-coding nucleotide RNAs that negatively regulate the expression of target mRNAs. miRNA-21 is a microRNA that is highly enriched in endothelial cells. miRNA-21 has been shown to be a potential pro-angiogenic factor in some biological systems. Our previous study showed that the expression of miRNA-21 was up-regulated after spinal cord injury. However, the effect of miRNA-21 on angiogenesis in the spinal cord was unclear. In this study, to understand the role of miRNA-21 on injured endothelial cells exclusively, an oxygen and glucose deprivation model of endothelial cells was constructed, and the up-regulation of miRNA-21 was discovered in this model. An increased level of miRNA-21 by mimics promoted the survival, migration and tube formation of endothelial cells, which simultaneously inhibited tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) expression and promoted matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) expression and secretion. A decreased level of miRNA-21 by antagomir exerted an opposite effect. As is well known, survival, migration and tube formation of endothelial cells are necessary prerequisites for angiogenesis after injury. TIMP3 was validated as a direct target of miRNA-21 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Silencing with small interfering RNA against TIMP3 promoted tube formation and increased MMP2 and MMP9 expression at the protein level. In vivo, we found that decreased levels of miRNA-21 inhibited angiogenesis after spinal cord injury in rats using synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography. In summary, these findings suggest that miRNA-21 has a protective effect on angiogenesis by reducing cell death and promoting cell survival, migration and tube formation via partially targeting the TIMP3 by potentially regulating MMP2 and MMP9. TIMP3 is a functional target gene. Identifying the role of miRNA-21 in the protection of angiogenesis might offer a novel therapeutic target for secondary spinal cord injury, in which angiogenesis is indispensable.     

Neurovascular congruence results from a shared patterning mechanism that utilizes Semaphorin3A and Neuropilin-1

Peripheral nerves and blood vessels have similar patterns in quail forelimb development. Usually, nerves extend adjacent to existing blood vessels, but in a few cases, vessels follow nerves. Nerves have been proposed to follow vascular smooth muscle, endothelium, or their basal laminae. Focusing on the major axial blood vessels and nerves, we found that when nerves grow into forelimbs at E3.5-E5, vascular smooth muscle was not detectable by smooth muscle actin immunoreactivity. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy at E5.5 confirmed that early blood vessels lacked smooth muscle and showed that the endothelial cell layer lacks a basal lamina, and we did not observe physical contact between peripheral nerves and these endothelial cells. To test more generally whether lack of nerves affected blood vessel patterns, forelimb-level neural tube ablations were performed at E2 to produce aneural limbs; these had completely normal vascular patterns up to at least E10. To test more generally whether vascular perturbation affected nerve patterns, VEGF(165), VEGF(121), Ang-1, and soluble Flt-1/Fc proteins singly and in combination were focally introduced via beads implanted into E4.5 forelimbs. These produced significant alterations to the vascular patterns, which included the formation of neo-vessels and the creation of ectopic avascular spaces at E6, but in both under- and overvascularized forelimbs, the peripheral nerve pattern was normal. The spatial distribution of semaphorin3A protein immunoreactivity was consistent with a negative regulation of neural and/or vascular patterning. Semaphorin3A bead implantations into E4.5 forelimbs caused failure of nerves and blood vessels to form and to deviate away from the bead. Conversely, semaphorin3A antibody bead implantation was associated with a local increase in capillary formation. Furthermore, neural tube electroporation at E2 with a construct for the soluble form of neuropilin-1 caused vascular malformations and hemorrhage as well as altered nerve trajectories and peripheral nerve defasciculation at E5-E6. These results suggest that neurovascular congruency does not arise from interdependence between peripheral nerves and blood vessels, but supports the hypothesis that it arises by a shared patterning mechanism that utilizes semaphorin3A.     

Vascular changes associated with spinal root avulsion injury

Abstract

This paper has investigated the hypothesis that spinal root avulsion (SRA) injury produces alterations in blood flow that contribute to avulsion injury induced pain-like behaviour in rodents. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an established way of assessing blood flow in the central nervous system (CNS) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is the most widely used technique for measuring tissue perfusion. Using an established model of SRA injury that produces mechanical hypersensitivity, the PPG and LDF signals were recorded in animals 2 weeks post-injury and compared to naive recordings. PPG and LDF measurements were assessed on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the spinal cord rostral and caudal to the avulsion injury and at the level of the injury. Two weeks after injury, a time when vascular blood vessel endothelial markers are known to be decreased, no significant changes were seen in the spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) above, at, or below the injury site or when comparing the ipsilateral vs. contralateral side. Assessment of oxygenation levels again revealed no significant differences between naive and spinal root injured animals along the rostrocaudal axis (i.e., above, at, and below the site of injury or its equivalent on the contralateral side). From these experiments it is concluded that SRA does not significantly alter blood flow or tissue oxygen levels and so ischemia may play a less prominent role in avulsion injury induced pain.