查看文章

The formation of epithelial tubes is crucial for the proper development of many different tissues and organs, and occurs by means of a variety of different mechanisms. Morphogenesis of seamless, properly patterned endothelial tubes is essential for the development of a functional vertebrate circulatory system, but the mechanism of vascular lumenization in vivo remains unclear. Evidence dating back more than 100 years has hinted at an important function for endothelial vacuoles in lumen formation. More than 25 years ago, in some of the first endothelial cell culture experiments in vitro, Folkman and Haudenschild described “longitudinal vacuoles” that “appeared to be extruded and connected from one cell to the next”^,, observations confirmed and extended by later studies in vitro showing that intracellular vacuoles arise from integrin-dependent and cdc42/Rac1-dependent pinocytic events downstream of integrin …