Mouse models of vascular development and disease.

Area of Science:

• Vascular biology
• Genetics
• Disease modeling

Background:

• Genetic models, particularly mouse models, are vital for studying vascular disease origins and mechanisms.
• Targeting endothelial cells in mice helps pinpoint the effects of causative mutations.
• These models provide an in-vivo platform for evaluating diagnoses and treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize widely used mouse models for studying vascular disease.
• To focus on mouse models of vascular malformations and future directions.
• To assess the collection of mouse driver lines instrumental in identifying genes for blood vessel formation and disease.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing mouse lines to regulate gene ablation or transgenic gene expression in murine endothelium.
• Employing Cre recombinase or tetracycline-controlled transactivator protein systems for inducible or constitutive gene expression alteration.
• Cataloguing existing mouse lines to assess candidate genes in vascular malformations.

Main Results:

• Over three decades, a robust toolkit of mouse lines has been developed for vascular biology research.
• These models allow for in-vivo modeling of molecular pathways in vascular anomalies, malformations, and dysplasias.
• Progress has been made in identifying genes involved in blood vessel formation, remodeling, and maintenance.

Conclusions:

• Genetic mouse models have significantly advanced the study of vascular disease.
• Existing models are instrumental in understanding vascular malformations.
• There is an ongoing need for new genetic mouse models to investigate newly identified candidate genes in vascular disease.