Deregulation of Flk-1/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 in fibroblast growth factor receptor-1-deficient vascular stem cell development.

We have employed embryoid bodies derived from murine embryonal stem cells to study effects on vascular development induced by fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 and FGF receptor-1, in comparison to the established angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and its receptor VEGF receptor-2. Exogenous FGF-2 promoted formation of morphologically distinct, long slender vessels in the embryoid bodies, whereas VEGF-A-treated bodies displayed a compact plexus of capillaries. FGF-2 stimulation of embryonal stem cells under conditions where VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 function was blocked, led to formation of endothelial cell clusters, which failed to develop into vessels. FGFR-1(-/-) embryoid bodies responded to VEGF-A by establishment of the characteristic vascular plexus, but FGF-2 had no effect on vascular development in the absence of FGFR-1. The FGFR-1(-/-) embryoid bodies displayed considerably increased basal level of vessel formation, detected by immunohistochemical staining for platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM)/CD31. This basal vascularization was blocked by neutralizing antibodies against VEGFR-2 or VEGF-A and biochemical analyses indicated changes in regulation of VEGFR-2 in the absence of FGFR-1 expression. We conclude that VEGF-A/VEGFR-2-dependent vessel formation occurs in the absence of FGF-2/FGFR-1, which, however, serve to modulate vascular development.