Plasma ratio of angiopoietin-2 to angiopoietin-1 is a biomarker of vascular impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Muscle biopsies have revealed that the muscle vasculature in COPD patients was characterized by a capillary rarefaction with reduced pericyte coverage. Thus, an imbalance of the plasma Angiopoietin-1 / Angiopoietin-2 (Ang2/Ang1) ratio could constitute a non-invasive marker of the muscle vascular impairment. In 14 COPD patients (65.5 ±5.1-year-old) and 7 HC (63.3±5.8-year-old), plasma samples were obtained at 3 time-points: before, after 5 weeks (W5), and after 10 weeks (W10) of exercise training. COPD patie...
Source: Angiogenesis - January 11, 2022 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
PHD2 deletion in endothelial or arterial smooth muscle cells reveals vascular cell type-specific responses in pulmonary hypertension and fibrosis
AbstractHypoxia plays an important regulatory role in the vasculature to adjust blood flow to meet metabolic requirements. At the level of gene transcription, the responses are mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) the stability of which is controlled by the HIF prolyl 4-hydroxylase-2 (PHD2). In the lungs hypoxia results in vasoconstriction, however, the pathophysiological relevance of PHD2 in the major arterial cell types; endothelial cells (ECs) and arterial smooth muscle cells (aSMCs) in the adult vasculature is incompletely characterized. Here, we investigated PHD2-dependent vascular homeostasis utilizing inducibl...
Source: Angiogenesis - January 8, 2022 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
On coalescent angiogenesis and the remarkable flexibility of blood vessels
(Source: Angiogenesis)
Source: Angiogenesis - January 7, 2022 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Coalescent angiogenesis —evidence for a novel concept of vascular network maturation
AbstractAngiogenesis describes the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vascular structures. While the most studied mode of angiogenesis is vascular sprouting, specific conditions or organs favor intussusception, i.e., the division or splitting of an existing vessel, as preferential mode of new vessel formation. In the present study, sustained (33-h) intravital microscopy of the vasculature in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) led to the hypothesis of a novel non-sprouting mode for vessel generation, which we termed “coalescent angiogenesis.” In this process, preferential flow pathways evolve from is...
Source: Angiogenesis - December 14, 2021 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Interferon-alpha or -beta facilitates SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary vascular infection by inducing ACE2
AbstractSevere viral pneumonia caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by a hyperinflammatory state typified by elevated circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, frequently leading to potentially lethal vascular complications including thromboembolism, disseminated intracellular coagulopathy and vasculitis. Though endothelial infection and subsequent endothelial damage have been described in patients with fatal COVID-19, the mechanism by which this occurs remains elusive, particularly given that, under na ïve conditions, pulmonary endothelial cells demonstrate minimal cel...
Source: Angiogenesis - October 29, 2021 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Unique functions for Notch4 in murine embryonic lymphangiogenesis
AbstractIn mice, embryonic dermal lymphatic development is well understood and used to study gene functions in lymphangiogenesis. Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that modulates cell fate decisions, which has been shown to both inhibit and promote dermal lymphangiogenesis. Here, we demonstrate distinct roles for Notch4 signaling versus canonical Notch signaling in embryonic dermal lymphangiogenesis. Actively growing embryonic dermal lymphatics expressed NOTCH1, NOTCH4, and DLL4 which correlated with Notch activity. In lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), DLL4 activation of Notch induced a subset of Not...
Source: Angiogenesis - October 19, 2021 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Peritumoral B cells drive proangiogenic responses in HMGB1-enriched esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
AbstractSeveral B-cell subsets with distinct functions and polarized cytokine profiles that extend beyond antibody production have been reported in different cancers. Here we have demonstrated that proliferating B cells were predominantly found in the peritumoral region of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). These B cells were enriched in tumor nests with high expression of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). High densities of peritumoral proliferating B cells and concomitantly high intratumoral HMGB1 expression showed improved prognostic significance, surpassing prognostic stratification of ESCC patients based on HM...
Source: Angiogenesis - October 6, 2021 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Blood vessels sense dermal stiffness via a novel mechanotransducer, APJ
AbstractMicrovascular dysfunction accompanied by a dramatic alteration of stable capillary structure is a major hallmark of numerous age-related diseases. In skin, although the role of angiogenesis during dermal reconstitution is well documented, the functional relevance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness to vascular remodeling and its molecular mechanisms was poorly understood. Here, we developed an ex vivo 3-dimensional angiogenic model using human fat, revealing that “appropriate” stiffness induces vascular maturation associated with upregulated APJ expression, whereas the overexpression of APJ promotes the...
Source: Angiogenesis - October 6, 2021 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
