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- Title
AVIAN PROEPICARDIAL CELLS RETAIN VASCULOGENIC POTENTIAL IN CULTURE.
- Authors
Crossland, Randy; Green, Jessica; Langford, J. Kevin
- Abstract
Cardiac morphogenesis culminates in the formation of a fully functioning heart comprised of three primary tissues, endocardium, muscular myocardium, and outer epicardium. For continued development and effective function, the heart eventually requires a coronary vascular system to supply its own tissues with essential raw material. While the origin of the epicardium and coronary vasculature remained undetermined until the early 1990's, evidence demonstrates that both have a common tissue of origin within the extracardiac tissue of the proepicardium (PE). Precursor cells within this structure have been shown to produce a number of cell types critical to the development of the heart. Using PE primary explants from avian hearts grown on collagen lattices, we confirm reports that PE-derived cells may differentiate into endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, myocardial cells (in vitro) and blood cells (via hematopoiesis). More importantly, our data demonstrate that PE-derived cells in culture retain the capacity to form complex, multicellular vascular structures. Within the collagen matrix, lumenized structures were lined with cells expressing the endothelial marker QH-1. Additionally, these cells formed junctional complexes between adjacent cells, characteristic of endothelial cells. Cells peripheral to the endothelial cells represent pericytes or smooth muscle precursors. Cells resembling polymorphonuclear leukocytes were observed within the patent lumen of some of these structures in culture. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the PE-collagen gel model system is well suited for studying the mechanisms involved in coronary vasculogenesis.
- Subjects
MORPHOGENESIS; ENDOCARDIUM; MYOCARDIUM; HEART blood-vessels; HEMATOPOIESIS; LEUCOCYTES; VASCULAR endothelium
- Publication
Texas Journal of Microscopy, 2007, Vol 38, Issue 2, p108
- ISSN
1554-0820
- Publication type
Article