11
November 2004
A trail of blood
During development, the nervous and circulatory systems must navigate their way throughout the body. Branching patterns of nerve cells have been widely studied, but less is known about blood vessel growth. A paper published this week explains how the cell-surface receptor UNC5B guides vascular development. UNC5B was first identified for its role in guiding nerve cells in developing embryos. In mice and zebrafish, the UNC5B gene (Unc5b) has a crucial function in directing capillary growth. When UNC5B receptors meet a molecule called netrin, the result is a signal that stops a nascent blood vessel in its tracks, preventing over-branching. Disruption of Unc5b or netrin leads to abnormal navigation of the vascular system throughout the body. It is possible that UNC5B continues to control the arterial network by repressing vascular branching in adults. Findings from this study could lead to the design of novel drugs that act by producing new blood vessels.
The netrin receptor UNC5B mediates guidance
events controlling morphogenesis of the vascular system
XIAOWEI LU, FERDINAND LE NOBLE, LI YUAN, QUINGJAN
JIANG, BENJAMIN DE LAFARGE, DAISUKE SUGIYAMA, CHRISTIANE BR�ANT, FILIP
CLAES, FREDERIK DE SMET, JEAN-L�ON THOMAS, MONICA AUTIERO, PETER CARMELIET,
MARC TESSIER-LAVIGNE & ANNE EICHMANN
Nature 432, 179–186 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature03080
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