1
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
S. Gerecht (ed.), Biophysical Regulation of Vascular Differentiation and
Assembly, Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99319-5_1
Chapter 1
Molecular Control of Capillary Tube
Morphogenesis and Maturation Through
Endothelial Cell-Pericyte Interactions:
Regulation by Small GTPase-Mediated
Signaling, Kinase Cascades, Extracellular
Matrix Remodeling, and Defined Growth
Factors
George E. Davis
1.1 Introduction
Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of molecular events
underlying the development of the vasculature and how it is regulated in postnatal
life, particularly in the context of tissue injury and tumorigenesis [1, 18, 19, 30, 31,
36, 55, 89, 92]. A key point is that the major advances in the field appear to be
directly related to our understanding of basic events that control these processes
such as cell survival, proliferation, migration, invasion, and morphogenesis. Also, it
should be pointed out that both in vitro and in vivo studies have played major roles
in advancing this understanding, and it remains essential that both types of
approaches are utilized to approach the complexities inherent in the developing and
postnatal vasculature.
The molecular control of the vasculature is affected by many factors and signals,
and in this chapter, we will focus on the influence of extracellular matrix (ECM),
matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), small GTPase-mediated signal transduction,
defined growth factors, and endothelial cell (EC)-pericyte interactions in controlling
vascular development and postnatal vascularization events. In general terms, the
ECM is a fundamental regulator of vascularization, in that it presents a physical
scaffold containing adhesive and growth factor modulatory signals that are necessary for blood vessels to form and mature [34, 35, 57, 58, 81, 89]. Vascular cell
G. E. Davis (*)
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology,
University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA
e-mail: gedavis@health.usf.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
S. Gerecht (ed.), Biophysical Regulation of Vascular Differentiation and
Assembly, Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99319-5_1
Chapter 1
Molecular Control of Capillary Tube
Morphogenesis and Maturation Through
Endothelial Cell-Pericyte Interactions:
Regulation by Small GTPase-Mediated
Signaling, Kinase Cascades, Extracellular
Matrix Remodeling, and Defined Growth
Factors
George E. Davis
1.1 Introduction
Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of molecular events
underlying the development of the vasculature and how it is regulated in postnatal
life, particularly in the context of tissue injury and tumorigenesis [1, 18, 19, 30, 31,
36, 55, 89, 92]. A key point is that the major advances in the field appear to be
directly related to our understanding of basic events that control these processes
such as cell survival, proliferation, migration, invasion, and morphogenesis. Also, it
should be pointed out that both in vitro and in vivo studies have played major roles
in advancing this understanding, and it remains essential that both types of
approaches are utilized to approach the complexities inherent in the developing and
postnatal vasculature.
The molecular control of the vasculature is affected by many factors and signals,
and in this chapter, we will focus on the influence of extracellular matrix (ECM),
matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), small GTPase-mediated signal transduction,
defined growth factors, and endothelial cell (EC)-pericyte interactions in controlling
vascular development and postnatal vascularization events. In general terms, the
ECM is a fundamental regulator of vascularization, in that it presents a physical
scaffold containing adhesive and growth factor modulatory signals that are necessary for blood vessels to form and mature [34, 35, 57, 58, 81, 89]. Vascular cell
G. E. Davis (*)
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology,
University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA
e-mail: gedavis@health.usf.edu