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(Circulation Research. 2009;104:428.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Reviews

Guidance of Vascular Development

Lessons From the Nervous System

Bruno Larrivée, Catarina Freitas, Steven Suchting, Isabelle Brunet, Anne Eichmann

From Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U833; and Collège de France, Paris.

Correspondence to INSERM, Collège de France, 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, Paris 75005, France. E-mail anne.eichmann{at}college-de-france.fr

This Review is part of a thematic series on Arterial Specification: A Finishing School for the Endothelium, which includes the following articles:

Role of Crosstalk Between Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase/Mitogen-Activated

Protein Kinase Pathways in Artery-Vein Specification [2008;103:573–579]

Branching Morphogenesis [2008;103:784–795]

Brothers and Sisters: Molecular Insights Into Arterial-Venous Heterogeneity [2008;103:929–939]

Shared Circuitry: Developmental Signaling Cascades Regulate both Embryonic and Adult Coronary Vasculature [2009;104]

Guidance of Vascular Development: Lessons From the Nervous System

Arterial-Venous Specification during Development
Michael Simons Guest Editor

The vascular system of vertebrates consists of an organized, branched network of arteries, veins, and capillaries that penetrates all the tissues of the body. One of the most striking features of the vascular system is that its branching pattern is highly stereotyped, with major and secondary branches forming at specific sites and developing highly conserved organ-specific vascular patterns. The factors controlling vascular patterning are not yet completely understood. Recent studies have highlighted the anatomic and structural similarities between blood vessels and nerves. The 2 networks are often aligned, with nerve fibers and blood vessels following parallel routes. Furthermore, both systems require precise control over their guidance and growth. Several molecules with attractive and repulsive properties have been found to modulate the proper guidance of both nerves and blood vessels. These include the Semaphorins, the Slits, and the Netrins and their receptors. In this review, we describe the molecular mechanisms by which blood vessels and axons achieve proper path finding and the molecular cues that are involved in their guidance.

Key Words: angiogenesis • axon guidance • VEGF • semaphorin • netrin