TY - JOUR T1 - A truncation allele in vascular endothelial growth factor c reveals distinct modes of signaling during lymphatic and vascular development. JF - Development Y1 - 2013 A1 - Villefranc, Jacques A A1 - Nicoli, Stefania A1 - Bentley, Katie A1 - Jeltsch, Michael A1 - Zarkada, Georgia A1 - Moore, John C A1 - Gerhardt, Holger A1 - Alitalo, Kari A1 - Lawson, Nathan D KW - Alleles KW - Animals KW - Animals, Genetically Modified KW - Autocrine Communication KW - Blood Vessels KW - Cell Movement KW - Codon, Nonsense KW - Embryo, Nonmammalian KW - Female KW - Lymphatic System KW - Mice KW - Mice, Knockout KW - Neovascularization, Physiologic KW - Paracrine Communication KW - Protein Isoforms KW - Signal Transduction KW - Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C KW - Zebrafish KW - Zebrafish Proteins AB -

Vascular endothelial growth factor C (Vegfc) is a secreted protein that guides lymphatic development in vertebrate embryos. However, its role during developmental angiogenesis is not well characterized. Here, we identify a mutation in zebrafish vegfc that severely affects lymphatic development and leads to angiogenesis defects on sensitized genetic backgrounds. The um18 mutation prematurely truncated Vegfc, blocking its secretion and paracrine activity but not its ability to activate its receptor Flt4. When expressed in endothelial cells, vegfc(um18) could not rescue lymphatic defects in mutant embryos, but induced ectopic blood vessel branching. Furthermore, vegfc-deficient endothelial cells did not efficiently contribute to tip cell positions in developing sprouts. Computational modeling together with assessment of endothelial cell dynamics by time-lapse analysis suggested that an autocrine Vegfc/Flt4 loop plays an important role in migratory persistence and filopodia stability during sprouting. Our results suggest that Vegfc acts in two distinct modes during development: as a paracrine factor secreted from arteries to guide closely associated lymphatic vasculature and as an autocrine factor to drive migratory persistence during angiogenesis.

VL - 140 IS - 7 ER -