Objective-Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) are an important cause of hemorrhagic stroke. The underlying mechanisms are not clear. No animal model for adult bAVM is available for mechanistic exploration. Patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Type2 (HHT2) with activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1; ACVRL1) mutations have a higher incidence of bAVM than the general population. We tested the hypothesis that VEGF stimulation with regional homozygous deletion of Alk1 induces severe dysplasia in the adult mouse brain, akin to human bAVM.Methods-Alk1 2f/2f (exons 4-6 flanked by loxP sites) and wild-type (WT) mice (8-10 weeks old) were injected with Ad-Cre (2×10 7 PFU, adenoviral vector expressing Cre recombinase) and AAV-VEGF (2×10 9 genome copies, adeno-associated viral vectors expressing VEGF) into the basal ganglia. At 8 weeks, blood vessels were analyzed.Results-Gross vascular irregularities were seen in Alk1 2f/2f mouse brain injected with Ad-Cre and AAV-VEGF. The vessels were markedly enlarged with abnormal patterning resembling aspects of the human bAVM phenotype, displayed altered expression of the arterial and venous markers (EphB4 and Jagged-1), and showed evidence of arteriovenous shunting. Vascular irregularities were not seen in similarly treated WT mice.Interpretation-Our data indicate that post-natal, adult formation of the human disease bAVM is possible, and that both genetic mutation and angiogenic stimulation are necessary for lesion development. Our work not only provides a testable adult mouse bAVM model for the first time, but also suggests that specific medical therapy can be developed to slow bAVM growth and potentially stabilize the rupture-prone abnormal vasculature.

Endoglin (ENG) is a causative gene of type 1 hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT1). HHT1 patients have a higher prevalence of brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) than the general population and patients with other HHT subtypes. The pathogenesis of brain AVM in HHT1 patients is currently unknown and no specific medical therapy is available to treat patients. Proper animal models are crucial for identifying the underlying mechanisms for brain AVM development and for testing new therapies. However, creating HHT1 brain AVM models has been quite challenging because of difficulties related to deleting Eng-floxed sequence in Eng2fl/2fl mice. To create an HHT1 brain AVM mouse model, we used several Cre transgenic mouse lines to delete Eng in different cell-types in Eng2fl/2fl mice: R26CreER (all cell types after tamoxifen treatment), SM22α-Cre (smooth muscle and endothelial cell) and LysM-Cre (lysozyme M-positive macrophage). An adeno-associated viral vector expressing vascular endothelial growth factor (AAV-VEGF) was injected into the brain to induce focal angiogenesis. We found that SM22α-Cre-mediated Eng deletion in the embryo caused AVMs in the postnatal brain, spinal cord, and intestines. Induction of Eng deletion in adult mice using R26CreER plus local VEGF stimulation induced the brain AVM phenotype. In both models, Eng-null endothelial cells were detected in the brain AVM lesions, and formed mosaicism with wildtype endothelial cells. However, LysM-Cre-mediated Eng deletion in the embryo did not cause AVM in the postnatal brain even after VEGF stimulation. In this study, we report two novel HHT1 brain AVM models that mimic many phenotypes of human brain AVM and can thus be used for studying brain AVM pathogenesis and testing new therapies. Further, our data indicate that macrophage Eng deletion is insufficient and that endothelial Eng homozygous deletion is required for HHT1 brain AVM development.

Objective Vessels in brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) are prone to rupture. The underlying pathogenesis is not clear. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia type 2 (HHT2) patients with activin receptor-like kinase 1 (Alk1) mutation have a higher incidence of bAVM than the general population. We tested the hypothesis that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) impairs vascular integrity in the Alk1-deficient brain through reduction of mural cell-coverage. Methods and Results Adult Alk11f/2f mice (loxP sites flanking exons 4-6) and wild-type (WT) mice were injected with 2×107 PFU Ad-Cre and 2×109 genome copies of AAV-VEGF to induce focal homozygous Alk1 deletion (in Alk11f/2f mice) and angiogenesis. Brain vessels were analyzed eight weeks later. Compared to WT mice, the Alk1-deficient brain had more fibrin (99±30×103 pixels/mm2 vs. 40±13×103, P=0.001), iron deposition (508±506 pixels/mm2 vs. 6 ±49, P=0.04), and Iba1+ microglia/macrophage infiltration (888±420 Iba1+ cells/mm2 vs. 240±104 Iba1+, P=0.001) after VEGF stimulation. In the angiogenic foci, the Alk1-deficient brain had more α-SMA- vessels (52±9% vs. 12±7%, P<0.001), fewer vascular associated pericytes (503±179/mm2 vs. 931±115, P<0.001), and reduced PDGFR-β expression (26±9%, P<0.001). Conclusion Reduction of mural cell coverage in response to VEGF stimulation is a potential mechanism for the impairment of vessel wall integrity in HHT2-associated bAVM.