Endothelium-specific ablation of PDGFB leads to pericyte loss and glomerular, cardiac and placental abnormalities

• Platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGFB) is necessary for normal cardiovascular development, but the relative importance of different cellular sources of PDGFB has not been established. Using Cre-lox techniques, we show here that genetic ablation of Pdgfb in endothelial cells leads to impaired recruitment of pericytes to blood vessels. The endothelium-restricted Pdgfb knockout mutants also developed organ defects including cardiac, placental and renal abnormalities. These defects were similar to those observed in Pdgfb null mice. However, in marked contrast to the embryonic lethality of Pdgfb null mutants, the endothelium-specific mutants survived into adulthood with persistent pathological changes, including brain microhemorrhages, focal astrogliosis, and kidney glomerulus abnormalities. This spectrum of pathological changes is reminiscent of diabetic microangiopathy, suggesting that the endothelium-restricted Pdgfb knockouts may serve as models for some of the pathogenic events of vascular complications to diabetes. Key words: PDGFB, Endothelium, Cre, loxP, Pericytes, Microaneurysm

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Utvecklingsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Developmental Biology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

smooth-muscle-cells

retinal vascular patterns

protease-activated ligand

central-nervous-system

growth-factor

diabetic-retinopathy

beta-receptor

in-vivo

b-chain

kidney glomeruli

PDGFB

Cre

loxP

microaneurysm

pericytes

endothelium

Animals

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)