Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

A Fibrin-Enriched and tPA-Sensitive Photothrombotic Stroke Model
Published on: June 4, 2021
Development of pial collaterals by extension of pre-existing artery tips
Suraj Kumar1, Swarnadip Ghosh1, Niloufer Shanavas1
1National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, KA 560065, India.
Abstract:
Pial collaterals provide protection from ischemic damage and improve the prognosis of stroke patients. The origin or precise sequence of events underlying pial collateral development is unclear and has prevented clinicians from adapting new vascularization and regeneration therapies. We use genetic lineage tracing and intravital imaging of mouse brains at cellular resolution to show that during embryogenesis, pial collateral arteries develop from extension and anastomoses of pre-existing artery tips in a VegfR2-dependent manner. This process of artery tip extension occurs on pre-determined microvascular tracks. Our data demonstrate that an arterial receptor, Cxcr4, earlier shown to drive artery cell migration and coronary collateral development, is dispensable for the formation and maintenance of pial collateral arteries. Our study shows that collateral arteries of the brain are built by a mechanism distinct from that of the heart.
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