Here we have investigated the mechanisms that control astrocyte differentiation within the developing rat optic nerve. Astrocytes are normally generated by astrocyte precursor cells within the embryonic optic nerve. We show that there is a close temporal and spatial correlation between endothelial and astrocyte differentiation. We tested the potential role of endothelial cells in inducing astro...

During blood vessel assembly, endothelial cells recruit mesenchymal progenitors and induce their differentiation into mural cells via contact-dependent transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) activation. We investigated whether gap junction channels are formed between endothelial cells and recruited mesenchymal progenitors and whether intercellular communication is necessary for endothelial-...

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2/Flk-1)-positive cells derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells serve as vascular progenitors, which differentiate into endothelial cells (ECs) in the presence of VEGF-A. VEGFR3/Flt-4 (fms-like tyrosine kinase 4) signaling is known to be important for the development of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). To elucidate the roles of VEGFR3 signal...

objective: in this investigation murine embryonic stem (es) cells were differentiated into endothelial cells. materials and methods: murine es cells (cce cell line) exposed to alpha-mem medium containing 10% fbs for 4 days. then obtained flk-1 (flk-1: vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2) positive cells were cultuted in endothelial growth medium-2 (egm-2) until the last day of experime...

OBJECTIVE A critical regulator of the developing or regenerating vasculature is low oxygen tension. Precise elucidation of the role of low oxygen environments on endothelial commitment from human pluripotent stem cells necessitates controlled in vitro differentiation environments. APPROACH AND RESULTS We used a feeder-free, 2-dimensional differentiation system in which we could monitor accura...

OBJECTIVE Endothelial differentiation is a fundamental process in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis with implications in development, normal physiology, and pathology. To better understand this process, an in vitro cellular system that recapitulates endothelial differentiation and is amenable to experimental manipulations is required. METHODS AND RESULTS Embryonic cell lines that differentiate ...

Peripheral artery disease often requires treatments with vascular grafts for vessel reconstruction. Endothelialization of the vascular grafts is important to achieve long-term patency because endothelial cells regulate thrombosis, inflammation, and growth of smooth muscle cells. One potential source of endothelial cells is human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which can be routinely differentia...