A role for partial endothelial-mesenchymal transitions in angiogenesis? - PubMed (original) (raw)

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A role for partial endothelial-mesenchymal transitions in angiogenesis?

Katrina M Welch-Reardon et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

The contribution of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) in both developmental and pathological conditions has been widely recognized and studied. In a parallel process, governed by a similar set of signaling and transcription factors, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EndoMT) contribute to heart valve formation and the generation of cancer-associated fibroblasts. During angiogenic sprouting, endothelial cells express many of the same genes and break down basement membrane; however, they retain intercellular junctions and migrate as a connected train of cells rather than as individual cells. This has been termed a partial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. A key regulatory check-point determines whether cells undergo a full or a partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions/endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition; however, very little is known about how this switch is controlled. Here we discuss these developmental/pathological pathways, with a particular focus on their role in vascular biology.

Keywords: EMT; angiogenesis; endothelial; transcription factor.

© 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Complete vs. partial EMT/EndoMT. Epithelial and endothelial cells comprise the quiescent epithelium and endothelium respectively and utilize junctional proteins to maintain connections. Once transcriptional reprogramming is initiated, an event led by the EMT/EndoMT-transcription factors Slug, Snail, Twist and Zeb1/2, the epithelial/endothelial cells lose apical-basal polarity, sever intercellular junctions and become motile cells. However, the regulatory signal(s) that determine whether these cells undergo a complete EMT/EndoMT or partial EMT/EndoMT remains unclear. In the case of sprouting angiogenesis, the contact-dependent Notch signaling pathway may have a major role to play in this process.

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