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Cerebral angiogenesis shows nestin expression in endothelial cells
1Department of Histology and Embryology, Charles University, Medical Faculty, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. mokry@lfhk.cuni.cz
General Physiology and Biophysics
|March 9, 2000
Summary
Nestin, a protein marker, is newly found in rat brain blood vessels. Its expression increases during blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) in adult brains, suggesting a role beyond neural precursors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Vascular Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Nestin is traditionally recognized as a marker for neural precursor cells and developing muscles.
- Previous understanding did not associate nestin with vascular endothelial cells in the central nervous system (CNS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and role of nestin in the vascular system of the developing and adult rat brain.
- To determine if nestin expression changes in response to stimuli that induce neovascularization.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical localization of nestin in prenatal, postnatal, and adult rat brains.
- Analysis of nestin expression in cerebral blood vessels following procedures inducing neovascularization (e.g., fetal tissue grafting, C6 glioma implantation).
Main Results:
- Nestin immunoreactivity was detected in the endothelial cells of prenatal and early postnatal rat cerebral blood vessels.
- Nestin expression was down-regulated in adult rat cerebral vasculature but significantly re-expressed in newly formed and adjacent vessels after neovascularization induction.
- Abundant nestin immunoreactivity was observed in all newly formed vessels and surrounding host vasculature in experimental models.
Conclusions:
- Nestin expression in endothelial cells is associated with angiogenesis in the adult rat brain.
- Nestin may play a role in the dynamic processes of blood vessel formation and remodeling.