Her4.3⁺ radial glial cells maintain the brain vascular network through activation of Wnt signaling

During vascular development, radial glial cells (RGCs) regulate vascular patterning in the trunk and contribute to the early differentiation of the blood-brain barrier. Ablation of RGCs results in excessive sprouting vessels or the absence of bilateral vertebral arteries. However, interactions of RGCs with later brain vascular networks after pattern formation remain unknown. Here, we generated a her4.3 transgenic line to label RGCs and applied the metronidazole/nitroreductase system to ablate her4.3⁺ RGCs. The ablation of her4.3⁺ RGCs led to the collapse of the cerebral vascular network, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and downregulation of Wnt signaling. The inhibition of Wnt signaling resulted in the collapse of cerebral vasculature, similar to that caused by her4.3⁺ RGC ablation. The defects in the maintenance of brain vasculature resulting from the absence of her4.3⁺ RGCs were partially rescued by the activation of Wnt signaling or overexpression of Wnt7aa or Wnt7bb. Together, our study suggests that her4.3⁺ RGCs maintain the cerebral vascular network through Wnt signaling.