Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St., Rm 773J, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2014 Jun;71(11):1977-99. doi: 10.1007/s00018-013-1478-y. Epub 2013 Sep 27.
Arteries consist of an inner single layer of endothelial cells surrounded by layers of smooth muscle and an outer adventitia. The majority of vascular developmental studies focus on the construction of endothelial networks through the process of angiogenesis. Although many devastating vascular diseases involve abnormalities in components of the smooth muscle and adventitia (i.e., the vascular wall), the morphogenesis of these layers has received relatively less attention. Here, we briefly review key elements underlying endothelial layer formation and then focus on vascular wall development, specifically on smooth muscle cell origins and differentiation, patterning of the vascular wall, and the role of extracellular matrix and adventitial progenitor cells. Finally, we discuss select human diseases characterized by marked vascular wall abnormalities. We propose that continuing to apply approaches from developmental biology to the study of vascular disease will stimulate important advancements in elucidating disease mechanism and devising novel therapeutic strategies.
动脉由一层内层的内皮细胞组成，周围是多层平滑肌和外层的外膜。大多数血管发育研究都集中在通过血管生成过程构建内皮网络上。尽管许多严重的血管疾病涉及平滑肌和外膜（即血管壁）成分的异常，但这些层的形态发生受到的关注相对较少。在这里，我们简要回顾内皮层形成的关键要素，然后重点讨论血管壁的发育，特别是平滑肌细胞的起源和分化、血管壁的模式形成以及细胞外基质和外膜祖细胞的作用。最后，我们讨论了一些以明显的血管壁异常为特征的人类疾病。我们认为，继续将发育生物学的方法应用于血管疾病的研究将刺激在阐明疾病机制和设计新的治疗策略方面的重要进展。
