An Endothelial Contribution to Coronary Vessels

Abstract

Despite the profound impact of coronary artery disease on human health, the origins of the coronary blood vessels are poorly understood. Wu et al. use imaging and genetic techniques to show that the endocardium contributes to the coronary vessels and that the coronary arteries and veins have multilineage origins.

Endothelial Plasticity Drives Arterial Remodeling Within the Endocardium After Myocardial Infarction

“…[4][5][6][7][8] Here, we reveal unprecedented endothelial plasticity between endocardial and coronary compartments in the adult heart after MI and present evidence that a similar endocardial to coronary arterial transition occurs under pathophysiological conditions in the adult endocardium ( Figure 4F). …”

“…4 Recent evidence suggests that the coronary vasculature is a developmental mosaic with contributions from epicardially derived cells and the sinus venosus. [5][6][7] The endocardium has also emerged as a major source of coronary endothelial cells in the fetal and early postnatal heart in genetic tracing experiments using Nfatc1 or Apln regulatory sequences. [7][8][9] However, the importance of the endocardium in the generation of new vessels in the injured adult heart is unknown.…”

Developmental origin and lineage plasticity of endogenous cardiac stem cells

“…Although the perivascular compartment of coronary vessels appears to derive from the epicardium (including resident CD45 + cells), recent lineage-tracing studies show that coronary endothelial cells have heterogeneous origins. The details are still being debated, but it is clear that distinct populations of endothelial cells arise from the sinus venosus and the endocardium, with a minor population deriving directly from the epicardium (Chen et al, 2014;Del Monte and Harvey, 2012;Katz et al, 2012;Tian et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2012). These populations deploy angioblasts with distinct kinetics and spatial signatures (Chen et al, 2014), with the endocardium also contributing to the coronary vascular tree postnatally during a process called trabecular compaction (Tian et al, 2014).…”

Myocardium-derived angiopoietin-1 is essential for coronary vein formation in the developing heart

“…Elucidating the cellular and molecular signals involved in vascularizing the embryonic heart would provide significant insights into adult heart disease and tissue regeneration. However, many aspects of the developmental origins of coronary endothelial cells (ECs) and the specific signals determining their fate have not been fully elucidated to date23.…”