title: Annexin A3 Regulates Early Blood Vessel Formation.
abstract: Annexins are a large family of calcium binding proteins that associate with cell membrane phospholipids and are involved in various cellular processes including endocytosis, exocytosis and membrane-cytoskeletal organization. Despite studies on numerous Annexin proteins, the function of Annexin A3 (Anxa3) is largely unknown. Our studies identify Anxa3 as a unique marker of the endothelial and myeloid cell lineages of Xenopus laevis during development. Anxa3 transcripts are also detected in endothelial cells (ECs) of zebrafish and mouse embryos, suggesting an important evolutionary function during formation of blood vessels. Indeed, Anxa3 loss-of-function experiments in frog embryos reveal its critical role during the morphogenesis of early blood vessels, as angioblasts in MO injected embryos fail to form vascular cords. Furthermore, in vitro experiments in mammalian cells identify a role for Anxa3 in EC migration. Our results are the first to reveal an in vivo function for Anxa3 during vascular development and represent a previously unexplored aspect of annexin biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Tulane University, 2000 Percival Stern Hall, 6400 Freret St., New Orleans, LA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Stryder M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Meadows
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ondine
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cleaver
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017318:Annexin A3 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008845:Microinjections; D060172:Morpholinos / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000235:genetics*; D014982:Xenopus laevis; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D060172:Morpholinos; D017318:Annexin A3