Udan Ryan S, Culver James C, Dickinson Mary E
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2013 May-Jun;2(3):327-46. doi: 10.1002/wdev.91. Epub 2012 Oct 5.
The vasculature of an organism has the daunting task of connecting all the organ systems to nourish tissue and sustain life. This complex network of vessels and associated cells must maintain blood flow, but constantly adapt to acute and chronic changes within tissues. While the vasculature has been studied for over a century, we are just beginning to understand the processes that regulate its formation and how genetic hierarchies are influenced by mechanical and metabolic cues to refine vessel structure and optimize efficiency. As we gain insights into the developmental mechanisms, it is clear that the processes that regulate blood vessel development can also enable the adult to adapt to changes in tissues that can be elicited by exercise, aging, injury, or pathology. Thus, research in vessel development has provided tremendous insights into therapies for vascular diseases and disorders, cancer interventions, wound repair and tissue engineering, and in turn, these models have clearly impacted our understanding of development. Here we provide an overview of the development of the vascular system, highlighting several areas of active investigation and key questions that remain to be answered.
生物体的脉管系统肩负着一项艰巨的任务，即连接所有器官系统以滋养组织并维持生命。这个由血管和相关细胞组成的复杂网络必须维持血液流动，但也要不断适应组织内的急性和慢性变化。尽管脉管系统已经被研究了一个多世纪，但我们才刚刚开始了解调节其形成的过程，以及基因层级如何受到机械和代谢信号的影响，从而优化血管结构和效率。随着我们对发育机制的深入了解，很明显，调节血管发育的过程也能使成年人适应由运动、衰老、损伤或病理引发的组织变化。因此，血管发育研究为血管疾病和紊乱、癌症干预、伤口修复和组织工程的治疗提供了深刻见解，反过来，这些模型也显著影响了我们对发育的理解。在此，我们概述血管系统的发育，突出几个活跃的研究领域以及有待解答的关键问题。
