What cell types ultimately form new blood vessels?

Defining the role of erythro-myeloid progenitors in developmental and pathological angiogenesis

Dr Alice Plein from University College London is studying how the cells lining blood vessels form as embryos develop. She is looking for ways to control new blood vessel growth during heart and circulatory diseases. As the embryo develops in the womb, stem cells turn into blood vessel cells that make up the very first blood vessels. These then divide to generate further blood vessels. In disease, new vessels are usually generated when cells in pre-existing blood vessels divide and travel into tissues that are deprived of oxygen. Until now scientists thought this was the only way new blood vessels could form. But research suggests other cell types, which are circulating in the blood, could also give rise to new blood vessel cells. Dr Plein has discovered that new blood vessel cells and blood vessels in the brain can form from stem cells in the blood called erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMPs). In this project, she will investigate EMPs and see if they can help to grow new blood vessels in embryonic development, heart disease, or in response to injury in mice. By revealing whether EMPs are involved in diseases with problems in blood vessel growth, this research could pave the way for new studies looking for ways to limit or encourage new blood vessel growth in these conditions.