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Review

Embryonic vasculogenesis and hematopoietic specification

Lauren C. Goldie, Melissa K. Nix and Karen K. Hirschi

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Vasculogenesis is the process by which blood vessels are formed de novo. In mammals, vasculogenesis occurs in parallel with hematopoiesis, the formation of blood cells. Thus, it is debated whether vascular endothelial cells and blood cells are derived from a common progenitor. Whether or not this is the case, there certainly is commonality among regulatory factors that control the differentiation and differentiated function of both cell lineages. VEGF is a major regulator of both cell types and plays a critical role, in coordination with other signaling pathways and transcriptional regulators, in controlling the differentiation and behavior of endothelial and blood cells during early embryonic development, as further discussed herein.

Authors

Lauren C. Goldie

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Melissa K. Nix

Baylor College of Medicine; Houston, Texas

Karen K. Hirschi

Baylor College of Medicine; Houston, Texas

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If the document does not open, please right-click on the link (control-click on a Macintosh) and select the option to save the file to disk.