Epha4 Regulates Central Nervous System Vascular Formation.
From: Centre for Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
The Journal of comparative neurology
- Publish Date: Aug 2006
- ISSN: 0021-9967
- Volume: 497
- Issue: 6
- Pages: 864-75
- Medium: Print
- Language: English
- Citation (JAMA): Goldshmit Yona, Galea Mary P, Bartlett Perry F, et al. Epha4 Regulates Central Nervous System Vascular Formation.. J. Comp. Neurol. Aug 2006;497:864-75
Abstract
Molecules involved in axon guidance have recently also been shown to play a role in blood vessel guidance. To examine whether axon guidance molecules, such as the EphA4 receptor tyrosine kinase, might also play a role in development of the central nervous system (CNS) vasculature and repair following CNS injury, we examined wild-type and EphA4 null mutant (-/-) mice. EphA4-/- mice exhibited an abnormal CNS vascular structure in both the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord, with disorganized branching and a 30% smaller diameter. During development, EphA4 was expressed on endothelial cells. This pattern of expression was not maintained in the adult. After spinal cord injury in wild-type mice, expression of EphA4 was markedly up-regulated on activated astrocytes, many of which were tightly associated with blood vessels. In EphA4-/- spinal cord following injury, astrocytes were not as tightly associated with blood vessels as the wild-type astrocytes. In uninjured EphA4-/- mice, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) appeared normal, but it showed prolonged leakage following spinal cord injury. These results support a role for EphA4 in CNS vascular formation and guidance during development and an additional role in BBB repair.
Mesh Headings (Keywords): Animals, Blood-Brain Barrier, Brain, Central Nervous System, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Receptor, EphA4, Spinal Cord
Check for Full Text / PubMed Unique Identifier (PMID): 16802330
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