Endothelial cells and macrophages are known to engage in tight and specific interactions that contribute to the modulation of vascular function. Here we show that adult endothelial cells provide critical signals for the selective growth and differentiation of macrophages from several hematopoietic progenitors. The process features the formation of wellorganized colonies that exhibit progressive differentiation from the center to the periphery and toward an M2-like phenotype, characterized by enhanced expression of Tie2 and CD206/Mrc1. These colonies are long-lived depending on the contact with the endothelium; removal of the endothelial monolayer results in rapid colony dissolution. We further found that Csf1 produced by the endothelium is critical for the expansion of the macrophage colonies and that blockade of Csf1 receptor impairs colony growth. Functional analyses indicate that these macrophages are capable of accelerating angiogenesis, promoting tumor growth, and effectively engaging in tight associations with endothelial cells in vivo. These findings uncover a critical role of endothelial cells in the induction of macrophage differentiation and their ability to promote further polarization toward a proangiogenic phenotype. This work also highlights some of the molecules underlying the M2-like differentiation, a process that is relevant to the progression of both developmental and pathologic angiogenesis. (Blood. 2012;120(15):3152-3162) IntroductionThe link between the hematopoietic and the endothelial cell lineages is rooted early in development. In fact, definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) first emerge in the embryo from a specialized endothelial intermediate that holds hemogenic capacity. [1][2][3][4] Although the process of hematopoietic cells (HCs) budding from hemogenic endothelium is no longer present in the adult, the interactions between HCs and the endothelium continue to be critical for the trafficking and homing of HCs, as well as for activation and recruitment of inflammatory cells to specific tissue sites. 5 More recently, sinusoidal endothelial cells were shown to be essential for the self-renewal capacity of hematopoietic stem/ progenitor cells (HSPCs) through the production of specific angiocrine factors. 6,7 Intriguingly, bone marrow sinusoidal endothelial cells can also constitute a platform for the differentiation of HSPCs. This dual role of endothelial cells has been best exemplified by findings communicated by Kobayashi and colleagues, where the coculture of genetically modified human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with HSPCs supported both selfrenewal and lineage-specific differentiation of HSPCs. 8 Notably, the mechanisms by which endothelial cells mediate regeneration or differentiation of HCs depend largely on organ-specific determinants. Overall, mounting evidence supports the concept that the crosstalk between endothelial cells and HCs impacts the differentiation and stem cell properties of hematopoietic progenitors.The consequences of endothelial-hematopoietic...

Objective Perivascular cells, including pericytes, macrophages, smooth muscle cells and other specialized cell types, like podocytes, participate in various aspects of vascular function. However, aside from the well-established roles of smooth muscle cells and pericytes, the contributions of other vascular-associated cells are poorly understood. Our goal was to ascertain the function of perivascular macrophages in adult tissues under non-pathological conditions. Approach and Results We combined confocal microscopy, in vivo cell depletion and in vitro assays to investigate the contribution of perivascular macrophages to vascular function. We found that resident perivascular macrophages are associated with capillaries at a frequency similar to that of pericytes. Macrophage depletion using either clodronate liposomes or antibodies unexpectedly resulted in hyperpermeability. This effect could be rescued when M2-like macrophages, but not M1-like macrophages or dendritic cells, were reconstituted in vivo, suggesting subtype-specific roles for macrophages in the regulation of vascular permeability. Furthermore, we found that permeability-promoting agents elicit motility and eventual dissociation of macrophages from the vasculature. Finally, in vitro assays showed that M2-like macrophages attenuate the phosphorylation of VE-cadherin upon exposure to permeability-promoting agents. Conclusions This study points to a direct contribution of macrophages to vessel barrier integrity and provides evidence that heterotypic cell interactions with the endothelium, in addition to those of pericytes, control vascular permeability.

Malignant ascites is a common complication in the late stages of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) that greatly diminishes the quality of life of patients. Malignant ascites is a known consequence of vascular dysfunction, but current approved treatments are not effective in preventing fluid accumulation. In this study, we investigated an alternative strategy of targeting macrophage functions to reverse the vascular pathology of malignant ascites using fluid from human patients and an immunocompetent murine model (ID8) of EOC that mirrors human disease by developing progressive vascular disorganization and leakiness culminating in massive ascites. We demonstrate that the macrophage content in ascites fluid from human patients and the ID8 model directly correlates with vascular permeability. To further substantiate macrophages’ role in the pathogenesis of malignant ascites, we blocked macrophage function in ID8 mice using a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor kinase inhibitor (GW2580). Administration of GW2580 in the late stages of disease resulted in reduced infiltration of protumorigenic (M2) macrophages and dramatically decreased ascites volume. Moreover, the disorganized peritoneal vasculature became normalized and sera from GW2580-treated ascites protected against endothelial permeability. Therefore, our findings suggest that macrophage-targeted treatment may be a promising strategy toward a safe and effective means to control malignant ascites of EOC.

Although human antibodies elicited by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein are profoundly boosted upon infection, little is known about the function of N-reactive antibodies. Herein, we isolate and profile a panel of 32 N protein-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from a quick recovery coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) convalescent patient who has dominant antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 N protein rather than to the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein. The complex structure of the N protein RNA binding domain with the highest binding affinity mAb (nCoV396) reveals changes in the epitopes and antigen’s allosteric regulation. Functionally, a virus-free complement hyperactivation analysis demonstrates that nCoV396 specifically compromises the N protein-induced complement hyperactivation, which is a risk factor for the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 patients, thus laying the foundation for the identification of functional anti-N protein mAbs.

Summary Vascular permeability is frequently associated with inflammation and triggered by a cohort of secreted permeability factors such as VEGF. Here we show that the physiological vascular permeability that precedes implantation is directly controlled by progesterone receptor (PR) and is independent of VEGF. Both global and endothelial-specific deletion of PR block physiological vascular permeability in the uterus whereas misexpression of PR in the endothelium of other organs results in ectopic vascular leakage. Integration of an endothelial genome-wide transcriptional profile with ChIP-sequencing revealed that PR induces a NR4A1 (Nur77/TR3)-dependent transcriptional program that broadly regulates vascular permeability in response to progesterone. Silencing of NR4A1 blocks PR-mediated permeability responses indicating a direct link between PR and NR4A1. This program triggers concurrent suppression of several junctional proteins and leads to an effective, timely and venous-specific regulation of vascular barrier function that is critical to embryo implantation.