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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

A Method for Labeling Vasculature in Embryonic Mice
Published on: October 7, 2011
Endoglin prevents vascular malformation by regulating flow-induced cell migration and specification through VEGFR2
Yi Jin1, Lars Muhl1, Mikhail Burmakin1
1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Scheeles väg 2, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
None:
Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in the endothelial cell (EC)-enriched gene endoglin (ENG) cause the human disease hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia-1, characterized by vascular malformations promoted by vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA). How ENG deficiency alters EC behaviour to trigger these anomalies is not understood. Mosaic ENG deletion in the postnatal mouse rendered Eng LOF ECs insensitive to flow-mediated venous to arterial migration. Eng LOF ECs retained within arterioles acquired venous characteristics and secondary ENG-independent proliferation resulting in arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Analysis following simultaneous Eng LOF and overexpression (OE) revealed that ENG OE ECs dominate tip-cell positions and home preferentially to arteries. ENG knockdown altered VEGFA-mediated VEGFR2 kinetics and promoted AKT signalling. Blockage of PI(3)K/AKT partly normalized flow-directed migration of ENG LOF ECs in vitro and reduced the severity of AVM in vivo. This demonstrates the requirement of ENG in flow-mediated migration and modulation of VEGFR2 signalling in vascular patterning.
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