Volker Nehls

Pericyte involvement in capillary sprouting during angiogenesis in situ

SummaryTo investigate the participation of microvascular pericytes in the process of capillary sprouting, we examined whole-mount preparations of the rat mesentery by use of a double immunofluorescence approach. Angiogenesis was induced by intraperitoneal injections of either the mast cell-degranulating substance compound 48/80 or tumor cell-conditioned medium. Capillary sprouts were visualized by staining with rhodaminconjugated phalloidin and pericytes were simultaneosly stained by an antibody to the intermediate filament protein desmin. Developing pericytes were negative for the smooth-muscle isoform of α-actin, bbut were clearly reactive for desmin. Pericytes appear to be involved in the carliest stages of capillary sprouting. Pericytes were regularly found lying at and in front of the advancing tips of endothelial sprouts. At many sites pericytes were seen to bridge the gap between the leading edges of opposing endothelial sprouts, which were apparently preparing to merge, suggesting that pericytic processes may serve as guiding structures aiding outgrowth of endothelial cells.

A microcarrier-based cocultivation system for the investigation of factors and cells involved in angiogenesis in three-dimensional fibrin matrices in vitro

Angiogenesis in situ includes coordinated interactions of various microvascular cell types, i.e., endothelial cells, pericytes and perivascular fibroblasts. To study the cellular interactions of microvascular cells in vitro, we have developed a microcarrier-based cocultivation system. The technical details of this method include seeding of endothelial cells on unstained cytodex-3 microcarriers and seeding of pericytes, fibroblasts or vascular smooth muscle cells on microcarriers which have been labeled by trypan blue staining. A mixture of both unstained and trypan blue-stained microcarriers was subsequently embedded in a three-dimensional fibrin clot. The growth characteristics of each cell type could be conveniently observed since the majority of cells left their supporting microcarriers in a horizontal direction to migrate into the transparent fibrin matrix. As differently stained microcarriers were randomly arranged in the fibrin matrix, the characteristic patterns of the microcarriers allowed location of particular points of interest at different developmental stages, facilitating the observation of cellular growth over the course of time. One further advantage of this microcarrier-based system is the possibility of reliably quantifying capillary growth by determination of average numbers of capillary-like formations per microcarrier. Thus, this model allows convenient evaluation of the effects of non-endothelial cells on angiogenesis in vitro. By using this coculture system, we demonstrate that endothelial capillary-like structures in vitro do not become stabilized by contacting vascular smooth muscle cells or pericytes during the initial stages of capillary formation.

Guided migration as a novel mechanism of capillary network remodeling is regulated by basic fibroblast growth factor

Abstract To investigate mechanisms of capillary network remodeling, we developed a serum-free angiogenesis in vitro system in three-dimensional fibrin matrices which allows the study of directional growth of endothelial sprouts, anastomosis, and remodeling (’pruning’) of the primitive plexus toward more elaborated capillary trees. To follow the movements of living endothelial cells by inverse-fluorescence microscopy, we cocultured unlabeled endothelial cells with endothelial cells labeled with the carbocyanine dye 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI). We show that elongation and retraction of neighboring capillary sprouts occurs simultaneously, resembling a tug-of-war by which endothelial cells are withdrawn from shortening sprouts to become incorporated in other sprouts nearby. For the first time, we directly demonstrate the long-suspected parallel sliding movement of endothelial cells. We show that cell migration persists within immature capillaries even after sprouts have merged to continuous capillary loops, leading to overlapping growth of opposing sprout tips. As a novel concept of capillary remodeling, we distinguish two types of endothelial cell migration: sprouting and guided migration. Sprouting is the de novo invasion of a matrix by endothelial cells, and guided migration is the locomotion of cells along preexistent capillary-like structures. We show that guided migration leads to remodeling of immature capillary networks and to the retraction of sprouts. We describe a method for quantification of sprouting versus guided migration in DiI-mosaic-labeled capillary networks, and we present evidence that endothelial cell-derived basic fibroblast growth factor serves as a chemotactic signal for other cells to migrate along a preestablished capillary-like structure.

Contact-dependent inhibition of angiogenesis by cardiac fibroblasts in three-dimensional fibrin gels in vitro: implications for microvascular network remodeling and coronary collateral formation

Abstract Angiogenesis and coronary artery collateral formation can improve blood flow and thereby prevent myocardial ischemia. The role of perivascular fibroblasts in neovascularization remains incompletely understood. Here we investigated the effects of epicardial and myocardial fibroblasts on angiogenesis in vitro by using a serum-free microcarrier-based fibrin gel angiogenesis system. To clearly distinguish between different cell types, we either stained endothelial cells or fibroblasts in the living with 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine-perchlorate (DiI). In cocultures, low numbers of heart fibroblasts stimulated endothelial sprouting, and capillary growth was also induced by fibroblast-conditioned media, indicating a paracrine mechanism. Capillary formation was decreased by increasing the density of fibroblasts in the cocultures, indicating contact-dependent inhibition. Using time-lapse studies, it turned out that close contacts between fibroblasts and endothelial cells resulted in rapid retraction of endothelial cells or, rarely, in cell death. Depending on the local ratio of fibroblasts to endothelial cell numbers, fibroblasts determined the location of capillary growth and the size of developing capillaries and thereby contributed to capillary network remodeling. In contrast to primary heart fibroblasts, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts did not display contact-dependent inhibition of endothelial sprouts. NIH fibroblasts were frequently seen in close association with endothelial capillaries, resembling pericytes. Contact-dependent inhibition of angiogenesis by epicardial fibroblasts could not be reversed by addition of neutralizing anti-TGF-β1 antibodies, by addition of serum, of medium conditioned by hypoxic tumor cells or myocardium, by various cytokines or by growing cocultures under hypoxic conditions. Our results implicate a pivotal role of periendothelial mesenchymal cells for the regulation of microvascular network remodeling and collateral formation.

Demonstration of actin filament stress fibers in microvascular endothelial cells in situ.

We have developed a method for immunostaining the microvascular tree of rat mesenteric windows in situ. The procedure consists of three steps, i.e., mild fixation with formaldehyde, controlled proteolytic digestion of the mesothelial layer, and permeabilization with acetone. Discrimination between different microvascular segments was possible by double-fluorescent staining with antibodies to the smooth muscle isoform of alpha-actin and to nonmuscle myosin from platelets. Antibodies to nonmuscle myosin labeled numerous longitudinally oriented cables in endothelial cells of all microvascular segments (arterioles, metarterioles, pre-, mid-, and postcapillaries, small venules). Occasionally, the myosin-containing cables displayed the interrupted sarcomere-like staining pattern that is diagnostic for stress fibers. In contrast, staining of actin filaments with phalloidin-rhodamin resulted in a noninterrupted, continuous fluorescence of the stress fibers. A possible functional role of microvascular endothelial stress fibers is to serve as a tensile cytoskeletal scaffold that stabilizes the tubular, three-dimensional geometry of microvessels and, in addition, to help the endothelium resist the shear forces created by blood flow and by collision with red and white blood cells.

Development of pericyte-like cells during angiogenesis in quail chick chimeras as detected by combined Feulgen reaction and immunohistochemistry

Perivascular fibroblasts have been proposed as possible precursor cells for microvascular pericytes. To investigate the development of pericytes during angiogenesis we examined interspecific grafts between chick and quail embryos. Limb buds of three-day old quail embryos were transferred to the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of ten to fourteen day-old chick embryos. Six days after grafting, the limb buds were explanted and histologically examined by combined Feulgen reaction and immunohistochemistry using an antibody to quail endothelial and hemopoietic cells (QH-1). Limb buds were found to be vascularized by a network of capillaries which were partially derived from sprouts of the chick CAM microvasculature. Numerous hybrid capillaries were detected, consisting of host endothelial cells (chick) and graft pericytes (quail). These results provide further support for the idea that microvascular pericytes can evolve from perivascular fibroblasts.