Contrast-enhanced molecular ultrasound differentiates endoglin genotypes in mouse embryos.

Targeted ultrasound contrast imaging has the potential to become a reliable molecular imaging tool. A better understanding of the quantitative aspects of molecular ultrasound technology could facilitate the translation of this technique to the clinic for the purposes of assessing vascular pathology and detecting individual response to treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether targeted ultrasound contrast-enhanced imaging can provide a quantitative measure of endogenous biomarkers. Endoglin, an endothelial biomarker involved in the processes of development, vascular homeostasis, and altered in diseases, including hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia type 1 and tumor angiogenesis, was the selected target. We used a parallel plate perfusion chamber in which endoglin-targeted (MBE), rat isotype IgG2 control and untargeted microbubbles were perfused across endoglin wild-type (Eng+/+), heterozygous (Eng+/-) and null (Eng-/-) embryonic mouse endothelial cells and their adhesion quantified. Microbubble binding was also assessed in late-gestation, isolated living transgenic Eng+/- and Eng+/+ embryos. Nonlinear contrast-specific ultrasound imaging performed at 21 MHz was used to collect contrast mean power ratios for all bubble types. Statistically significant differences in microbubble binding were found across genotypes for both in vitro (p<0.05) and embryonic studies (p<0.001); MBE binding was approximately twofold higher in Eng+/+ cells and embryos compared with their Eng+/- counterparts. These results suggest that molecular ultrasound is capable of reliably differentiating between molecular genotypes and relating receptor densities to quantifiable molecular ultrasound levels.

Interaction of the TEK and TIE receptor tyrosine kinases during cardiovascular development.

TEK (TIE2) and TIE (TIE1) are structurally related receptor tyrosine kinases expressed in endothelial cells and their precursors. Genetic studies in the mouse have revealed essential functions of both receptors in angiogenic expansion of the vasculature during development. As previously shown, mouse embryos homozygous for a disrupted Tek allele die by day 10.5 of embryogenesis due to endocardial defects, hemorrhaging, and impaired vascular network formation. Furthermore, TIE is required cell autonomously for endothelial cell survival and extension of the vascular network during late embryogenesis. Here we have investigated possible redundancy in the TEK and TIE signalling pathways during vascular development. Vasculogenesis proceeds normally in embryos lacking both TEK and TIE, although such embryos die early in gestation of multiple cardiovascular defects. Mosaic analysis revealed an absolute requirement for TEK in the endocardium at E10.5, whereas TEK and TIE are dispensable for the initial assembly of the rest of the vasculature. In contrast, both receptors are required in the microvasculature during late organogenesis and in essentially all blood vessels of the adult. This analysis demonstrates essential functions for TEK and TIE in maintaining the integrity of the mature vasculature.

The receptor tyrosine kinase TIE is required for integrity and survival of vascular endothelial cells.

Vascular endothelial cells are critical for the development and function of the mammalian circulatory system. We have analyzed the role of the endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinase TIE in the mouse vasculature. Mouse embryos homozygous for a disrupted Tie allele developed severe edema, their microvasculature was ruptured and they died between days 13.5 and 14.5 of gestation. The major blood vessels of the homozygous embryos appeared normal. Cells lacking a functional Tie gene were unable to contribute to the adult kidney endothelium in chimeric animals, further demonstrating the intrinsic requirement for TIE in endothelial cells. We conclude that TIE is required during embryonic development for the integrity and survival of vascular endothelial cells, particularly in the regions undergoing angiogenic growth of capillaries. TIE is not essential, however, for vasculogenesis, the early differentiation of endothelial cells.

Novel zinc finger proteins that interact with the mouse gamma F-crystallin promoter and are expressed in the sclerotome during early somitogenesis.

Lens-specific expression of the mouse gamma-F-crystallin gene is determined, at least in part, by a 23-bp DNA element, the gamma F-1-binding motif, located in the promoter region of the gene. To characterize the transcription factors that regulate gamma F-crystallin gene expression through this element, we have isolated three chicken cDNAs that encode proteins capable of binding specifically to the gamma F-1-binding motif. These three cDNAs represent differential splicing products from a single gene, gamma FBP. The protein isoforms encoded by two of these cDNAs differ in their ability to modulate the activity of promoters containing the gamma F-1-binding motif. Among them, gamma FBP-B functions as a transcriptional repressor in lens cells, and it's expression is developmentally regulated during lens development, suggesting a role for this isoform in the spatial regulation of gamma F-crystallin gene expression. We also show that expression of the different mRNA transcripts are differentially regulated in various tissues. Furthermore, gamma FBP transcripts are highly expressed in presomitic mesoderm and then over the entire epithelial somite. During somitic differentiation, gamma FBP expression becomes restricted to the sclerotome. These expression patterns suggest a regulatory role for the gamma FBP isoforms in sclerotome specification and/or differentiation.

Cell autonomous functions of the receptor tyrosine kinase TIE in a late phase of angiogenic capillary growth and endothelial cell survival during murine development.

TIE is a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in both mature endothelial cells and their precursors, as well as in some hematopoietic cells. Mouse embryos homozygous for a disrupted Tie allele die at midgestation due to impaired endothelial cell integrity and resulting hemorrhage. Here we have performed chimeric analysis to study further the function of the murine TIE in the development of embryonic vasculature and in the hematopoietic system. Cells lacking a functional Tie gene (tie(lcz)/tie(lczn-) cells) contributed to the embryonic vasculature at E10.5 as efficiently as cells heterozygous for a targeted Tie allele (tie(lcz)/+ cells). Thus, TIE does not play a significant role in vasculogenesis or in early angiogenic processes, such as formation of the intersomitic arteries and limb bud vascularization. At E15.5 tie(lcz)/tie(lczn-) cells still readily contributed to major blood vessels and to endothelial cells of organs such as lung and heart, which have been suggested to be vascularized by angioblast differentiation. In contrast, the tie(lcz)/tie(lczn-) cells were selected against in the capillary plexuses of several angiogenically vascularized tissues, such as brain and kidney. Our results thus support a role for TIE in late phases of angiogenesis but not vasculogenesis. Furthermore, the results suggest that different mechanisms regulate early and late angiogenesis and provide support for a model of differential organ vascularization by vasculogenic or angiogenic processes. Analysis of adult chimeras suggested that TIE is required to support the survival or proliferation of certain types of endothelial cells demonstrating heterogeneity in the growth/survival factor requirements in various endothelial cell populations. Chimeric analysis of adult hematopoietic cell populations, including peripheral platelets and bone marrow progenitor cells, revealed that tie(lcz)/tie(lczn-) cells were able to contribute to these cell types in a way indistinguishable from tie(lcz)/+ or wild-type cells. Thus, the primary function of TIE appears to be restricted to the endothelial cell lineage.

Vascularization of the mouse embryo: a study of flk-1, tek, tie, and vascular endothelial growth factor expression during development.

We report the detailed developmental expression profiles of three endothelial specific receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) flk-1, tek, tie, as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the flk-1 ligand. We also examined the expression of the other VEGF receptor, flt-1, during placental development. flk-1, tek, and tie transcripts were detected sequentially at one-half day intervals starting at E7.0, suggesting that each of these RTKs play a unique role during vascularization of the mouse embryo. All three RTKs were expressed in the extraembryonic and embryonic mesoderm in regions that eventually give rise to the vasculature. Except for the expression of tek and flk-1 in the mesoderm of the amnion, the expression of these RTKs from E8.5 onwards was virtually indistinguishable. An abundant amount of flt-1 transcripts was found in the spongiotrophoblast cells of the developing placenta from E8.0 onwards. This cellular compartment is located between the maternal and labyrinthine layers of the placenta, which both express VEGF. VEGF transcripts were detected as early as E7.0 in the endoderm juxtaposed to the flk-1 positive mesoderm, and later in development VEGF expression displayed an expression profile both contiguous with that of flk-1, and also in tissues found some distance from the flk-1-expressing endothelium. These results suggest a possible dual role for VEGF which includes a chemotactic and/or a cellular maintenance role for VEGF during vascularization of the mouse embryo.

Dominant-negative and targeted null mutations in the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase, tek, reveal a critical role in vasculogenesis of the embryo.

The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) expressed on the surface of endothelial cells are likely to play key roles in initiating the program of endothelial cell growth during development and subsequent vascularization during wound healing and tumorigenesis. Expression of the Tek RTK during mouse development is restricted primarily to endothelial cells and their progenitors, the angioblasts, suggesting that Tek is a key participant in vasculogenesis. To investigate the role that Tek plays within the endothelial cell lineage, we have disrupted the Tek signaling pathway using two different genetic approaches. First, we constructed transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative form of the Tek receptor. Second, we created a null allele of the tek gene by homologous recombination in embryonic stem (ES) cells. Transgenic mice expressing dominant-negative alleles of Tek or homozygous for a null allele of the tek locus both died in utero with similar defects in the integrity of their endothelium. By crossing transgenic mice that express the lacZ reporter gene under the transcriptional control of the endothelial cell-specific tek promoter, we found that the extraembryonic and embryonic vasculature was patterned correctly. However, homozygous tek embryos had approximately 30% and 75% fewer endothelial cells at day 8.5 and 9.0, respectively. Homozygous null embryos also displayed abnormalities in heart development, consistent with the conclusion that Tek is necessary for endocardial/myocardial interactions during development. On the basis of the analysis of mice carrying either dominant-negative or null mutations of the tek gene, these observations demonstrate that the Tek signaling pathway plays a critical role in the differentiation, proliferation, and survival of endothelial cells in the mouse embryo.

Vascular system defects and neuronal apoptosis in mice lacking ras GTPase-activating protein.

The gene encoding p120-rasGAP, a negative regulator of Ras, has been disrupted in mice. This Gap mutation affects the ability of endothelial cells to organize into a highly vascularized network and results in extensive neuronal cell death. Mutati ons in the Gap and Nf1 genes have a synergistic effect, such that embryos homozygous for mutations in both genes show an exacerbated Gap phenotype. Thus rasGAP and neurofibromin act together to regulate Ras activity during embryonic development.