PUBLICATION

TGF-β Signaling Is Necessary and Sufficient for Pharyngeal Arch Artery Angioblast Formation

Authors
Abrial, M., Paffett-Lugassy, N., Jeffrey, S., Jordan, D., O'Loughlin, E., Frederick, C.J., Burns, C.G., Burns, C.E.
ID
ZDB-PUB-170727-1
Date
2017
Source
Cell Reports   20: 973-983 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Burns (Erter), Caroline, Burns, Geoff, Paffett-Lugassy, Noelle
Keywords
Smad, TGF-β, cardiovascular, great vessels, nkx2.5, pharyngeal arch artery, small-molecule screen, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Arteries/cytology*
  • Branchial Region/blood supply*
  • Homeobox Protein Nkx-2.5/genetics
  • Homeobox Protein Nkx-2.5/metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
28746880 Full text @ Cell Rep.
Abstract
The pharyngeal arch arteries (PAAs) are transient embryonic blood vessels that mature into critical segments of the aortic arch and its branches. Although defects in PAA development cause life-threating congenital cardiovascular defects, the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate PAA morphogenesis remain unclear. Through small-molecule screening in zebrafish, we identified TGF-β signaling as indispensable for PAA development. Specifically, chemical inhibition of the TGF-β type I receptor ALK5 impairs PAA development because nkx2.5+ PAA progenitor cells fail to differentiate into tie1+ angioblasts. Consistent with this observation, we documented a burst of ALK5-mediated Smad3 phosphorylation within PAA progenitors that foreshadows angioblast emergence. Remarkably, premature induction of TGF-β receptor activity stimulates precocious angioblast differentiation, thereby demonstrating the sufficiency of this pathway for initiating the PAA progenitor to angioblast transition. More broadly, these data uncover TGF-β as a rare signaling pathway that is necessary and sufficient for angioblast lineage commitment.
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