Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) plays a crucial role in vascular and hematopoietic development, mainly through its cognate receptor Tie2. However, little is known about the precise role of Ang1 in embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation. In the present study, we used COMP-Ang1 (a soluble and potent variant of Ang1) to explore the effect of Ang1 on endothelial and hematopoietic differentiation of mouse ESCs in an OP9 coculture system and found that Ang1 promoted endothelial cell (EC) differentiation from Flk-1 Ű mesodermal precursors. This effect mainly occurred through Tie2 signaling and was altered in the presence of soluble Tie2-Fc. We accounted for this Ang1-induced expansion of ECs as enhanced proliferation and survival. Ang1 also had an effect on CD41 Ű cells, transient precursors that can differentiate into both endothelial and hematopoietic lineages.
IntroductionEmbryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been used frequently not only for research in the field of developmental biology, but also in cell-based regenerative medicine. 1 Many scientists in the field of vascular biology have studied the endothelial cell (EC) differentiation of ESCs in an attempt to develop treatments for the associated pathologies, and therefore our knowledge of EC differentiation has significantly expanded. 2,3 However, the pluripotency of ESCs capable of generating various cell types and the overwhelming complexity of the multiple signaling pathways involved in the process of differentiation make it extremely challenging to control EC differentiation in a precise and efficient manner. Our knowledge of ESC-EC differentiation still remains far from satisfactory, and the possibility of successfully applying stem cells in vascular regenerative medicine remains merely optimistic.Several recent studies have provided evidence supporting the presence of an intimate linkage between ECs and hematopoietic cells (HCs) during early embryonic development. 4,5 It has been suggested that both the endothelial and hematopoietic lineages arise from a common progenitor, the hemangioblasts, which express Flk-1 during the early stage of differentiation. 6-8 Moreover, several studies have suggested that the Flk-1 Ï© cells at this stage are actually mesodermal precursor cells (MPCs), based on the fact that they can give rise to not only ECs and HSCs but also to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and even cardiomyocytes. 9,10 Recent studies have also demonstrated that some HSCs are derived from a subset of ECs called the hemogenic endothelium during the differentiation from ESCs. [11][12][13] Other studies revealed that the initial definitive hematopoietic cells could originate from hemogenic endothelium that resides in the aorta during early embryonic development. 14-16 However, the underlying link between ECs and HSCs still remains obscure and is the subject of controversy.During the early stages of life, various growth factors influence endothelial and hematopoietic development. Among them, Ang1, a cognate ligand for the Tie2 receptor, is one of the key molecules ...