Molecular investigation of vascular lumen formation in the developing mouse aorta

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Blood vessels are multicellular tubes with a central vascular lumen that provides tissues with oxygen, nutrients as well as developmental signals (Lammert et al., 2001). Despite their importance for embryonic development and adult life, the molecular mechanism remains fragmentary by which vascular endothelial cells assemble to form lumenized vascular tubes, thus allowing blood flow to and from each tissue. Our recent data demonstrate that, in developing mouse embryos, aortic endothelial cells form multicellular cords, in which the endothelial cells partially deadhere and separate from each other to form a vascular lumen between them (Strilic et al., 2009). Here we want to study the role of anti-adhesive CD34-sialomucins as well as the role of VEGF and Eph receptor mediated endothelial cell separation during formation of the aorta, the largest arterial blood vessel in all mammals and humans.