Neurovascular Congruence during Cerebral Cortical Development

Abstract

There is evidence for interaction between the developing circulatory and nervous systems. Blood vessels provide a supporting niche in regions of adult neurogenesis. Here we present a systematic analysis of vascular development in the embryonic murine cortex and demonstrate that dividing cells, including Tbr2-positive intermediate progenitor cells, are closer to the vasculature than expected from a random distribution. To examine whether neurites of the newly generated embryonic neurons find blood vessels as an attractive and permissive substrate, we overlayed green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled dissociated cortical progenitors on embryonic organotypic cortical slice cultures with labeled vasculature. Our observations of neurites extending toward and along labeled blood vessels support the notion of vascular-neuronal interactions. The altered cortical layering had no obvious effect on the vascular patterns within the cortical plate (CP) in shaking rat Kawasaki (SRK) and the reeler mutant mouse at the ages studied (E19 and P3). It appears that similarly to other neurogenic regions in the adult, the embryonic "vascular niche" might influence neural progenitor cells during telencephalic neurogenesis, neuronal migration, and neurite extension, but the laminar phenotype of cell classes within the CP has limited influence on the developing vasculature.

Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells Promote Proliferation of Endogenous Neural Stem Cells Through Vascular Niches After Cerebral Infarction

“…It is well-known that in conventional neurogenic regions of the adult brain such as SVZ [58,59] and SGZ [4], NSPCs reside in vascular niches, and the vasculature is regarded as a key element throughout life. Although the niches for the cortical NSPCs in the adult brain remain unclear, our recent studies [15] and those of others [60,61] indicate that ECs are likely to be an important element of niches for NSPCs in the cerebral cortex. In support of this viewpoint, we have shown in the current study that proliferation of endogenous ischemia-induced NSPCs was observed more frequently near endogenous ECs in and around the poststroke cortex, and that the grafted ECs promoted the proliferation of endogenous NSPCs in that area.…”

From sauropsids to mammals and back: New approaches to comparative cortical development

“…Interestingly, the comparisons of selected genes with known cortical VZ and SVZ expression in the mouse and opossum revealed very similar expression patterns. Even the SVZ‐specific vascular patterning was apparent (Stubbs et al, 2009; Cheung et al, 2010). These observations suggest that the smaller number of cortical neurons in the radial domain is associated with the reduction and late appearance of the SVZ in marsupials.…”

Vascular endothelial growth factor coordinates islet innervation via vascular scaffolding

“…In many organs, vascular and neural structures are closely aligned (Bearden and Segal, 2005;Correa and Segal, 2012;Mukouyama et al, 2005;Mukouyama et al, 2002;Stubbs et al, 2009), reflecting their interdependent existence (Quaegebeur et al, 2011) and synchronized function (Storkebaum and Carmeliet, 2011). Defining how these vascular and neural elements are patterned is important for a full understanding of organ formation, as well as pathological conditions.…”