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Journal ArticleDOI

Abnormal blood vessel development and lethality in embryos lacking a single VEGF allele

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TLDR
It is reported that formation of blood vessels was abnormal, but not abolished, in heterozygous VEGF-deficient (VEGF+/-) embryos, generated by aggregation of embryonic stem (ES) cells with tetraploid embryos (T-ES)16,17, and even more impaired in homozygous D1-VEGF- deficient (VDGF-/-) T-ES embryos, resulting in death at mid-gestation.
Abstract
The endothelial cell-specific vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its cellular receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1 have been implicated in the formation of the embryonic vasculature. This is suggested by their colocalized expression during embryogenesis and the impaired vessel formation in Flk-1 and Flt-1 deficient embryos. However, because Flt-1 also binds placental growth factor, a VEGF homologue, the precise role of VEGF was unknown. Here we report that formation of blood vessels was abnormal, but not abolished, in heterozygous VEGF-deficient (VEGF+/-) embryos, generated by aggregation of embryonic stem (ES) cells with tetraploid embryos (T-ES) and even more impaired in homozygous VEGF-deficient (VEGF-/-) T-ES embryos, resulting in death at mid-gestation. Similar phenotypes were observed in F1-VEGF+/- embryos, generated by germline transmission. We believe that this heterozygous lethal phenotype, which differs from the homozygous lethality in VEGF-receptor-deficient embryos, is unprecedented for a targeted autosomal gene inactivation, and is indicative of a tight dose-dependent regulation of embryonic vessel development by VEGF.

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Failure of blood-island formation and vasculogenesis in Flk-1-deficient mice.

TL;DR: The generation of mice deficient in Flk-1 by disruption of the gene using homologous recombination in embryonic stem (ES) cells is reported, indicating that FlK-1 is essential for yolk-sac blood-island formation and vasculogenesis in the mouse embryo.
Journal Article

Vascular permeability factor/vascular endothelial growth factor, microvascular hyperpermeability, and angiogenesis.

TL;DR: T tumors have "borrowed" fundamental mechanisms that developed in multicellular organisms for purposes of tissue defense, renewal, and repair and taught us something new about angiogenesis, namely, that vascular hyperpermeability and consequent plasma protein extravasation are important, perhaps essential, elements in its generation.
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Role of the Flt-1 receptor tyrosine kinase in regulating the assembly of vascular endothelium

TL;DR: It is reported that Flt-1 is essential for the organization of embryonic vasculature, but is not essential for endothelial cell differentiation, and it is suggested that the FlT-1 signalling pathway may regulate normal endothelium cell-cell or cell-matrix interactions during vascular development.
Journal ArticleDOI

Derivation of completely cell culture-derived mice from early-passage embryonic stem cells

TL;DR: Fully potent early passage R1 cells and the R1-S3 subclone should be very useful not only for ES cell-based genetic manipulations but also in defining optimal in vitro culture conditions for retaining the initial totipotency of ES cells.
Journal ArticleDOI

The fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase, a Receptor for Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

TL;DR: Findings show that flt encodes a receptor for VEGF-VPF, a factor that induces vascular permeability when injected in the guinea pig skin and stimulates endothelial cell proliferation.
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