How blood vessels form hollow tubes

Mechanisms of neovascularisation: RhoJ, FMNL3 and the formation of vascular lumens

Professor Harry Mellor and his colleagues at the University of Bristol are studying blood vessel growth to try to reveal new ways to help people with blood vessel disease. Angiogenesis - where new blood vessels are formed from pre-existing vessels - is triggered when the body’s tissues become deprived of oxygen during a heart attack or a stroke, for example. These new blood vessels help to restore blood flow to the damaged tissue. To form new blood vessels, endothelial cells that line the blood vessels have to change shape. These cells elongate and move towards the damaged tissue. They then form a hollow tube to allow blood to flow through them into the damaged tissue. However, we know little about the mechanisms involved in this process. Professor Mellor’s team is studying what controls these shape changes and how endothelial cells form hollow tubes. They have identified two proteins, RhoJ and FMNL3, that work together to allow the cells of a new blood vessel to form tubes. In this project, Professor Mellor will study what other molecules interact with RhoJ and FMNL3 to get a complete idea of how new blood vessels form. By helping to understand new blood vessel formation, this research could help scientists design new drugs to boost blood vessel growth after a heart attack.