| First Author | Chovatiya G | Year | 2023 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 5623 |
| PubMed ID | 37699906 | Mgi Jnum | J:340555 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7527900 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-023-40761-5 |
| Citation | Chovatiya G, et al. (2023) Alk1 acts in non-endothelial VE-cadherin(+) perineurial cells to maintain nerve branching during hair homeostasis. Nat Commun 14(1):5623 |
| abstractText | Vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin is a well-recognized endothelial cell marker. One of its interacting partners, the TGF-beta receptor Alk1, is essential in endothelial cells for adult skin vasculature remodeling during hair homeostasis. Using single-cell transcriptomics, lineage tracing and gene targeting in mice, we characterize the cellular and molecular dynamics of skin VE-cadherin(+) cells during hair homeostasis. We describe dynamic changes of VE-cadherin(+) endothelial cells specific to blood and lymphatic vessels and uncover an atypical VE-cadherin(+) cell population. The latter is not a predicted adult endovascular progenitor, but rather a non-endothelial mesenchymal perineurial cell type, which forms nerve encapsulating tubular structures that undergo remodeling during hair homeostasis. Alk1 acts in the VE-cadherin(+) perineurial cells to maintain proper homeostatic nerve branching by enforcing basement membrane and extracellular matrix molecular signatures. Our work implicates the VE-cadherin/Alk1 duo, classically known as endothelial-vascular specific, in perineurial-nerve homeostasis. This has broad implications in vascular and nerve disease. |
