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Endocan immunoreactivity in the mouse brain: method for identifying nonfunctional blood vessels
Krystle A Frahm1, Connor P Nash, Stuart A Tobet
1Program in Cell & Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Fort Collins, CO, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Journal of Immunological Methods
|September 24, 2013
Summary
Endocan, a protein linked to blood vessel growth, is found throughout the mouse brain. Researchers suggest using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) perfusion to identify new blood vessels using endocan as a marker.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Vascular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Endocan is a secreted proteoglycan associated with angiogenesis and tumor progression.
- Serum endocan levels are a potential biomarker for certain cancers.
- Monoclonal antibodies against mouse endocan enable functional studies and angiogenesis marker development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and distribution of endocan in the adult mouse brain.
- To assess the potential of endocan as a marker for newly forming blood vessels.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry was used to detect endocan in brain tissue from C57BL/6J and FVB/N mice.
- Endocan expression was analyzed across different brain regions, during postnatal development, and between sexes.
- Vascular perfusion with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was employed to differentiate functional and non-functional blood vessels.
Main Results:
- Endocan immunoreactivity was observed in blood vascular networks across various mouse brain regions.
- Endocan expression showed no significant variation with postnatal development or sex.
- FITC perfusion revealed that FITC-positive endothelial cells were immunonegative for endocan, while a subset of FITC-negative vessels showed endocan immunoreactivity.
Conclusions:
- Endocan is normally expressed in the adult mouse brain vasculature.
- FITC perfusion, in conjunction with endocan immunohistochemistry, may serve as a method to identify nascent, non-functional blood vessels.
