Hedgehog and Resident Vascular Stem Cell Fate

Figure 5

(a) APC and MVSC locations within the blood vessel wall. AdvSca1⁺ progenitor cells reside in the tunica adventitia and MVSC reside within the medial adventitial boundary and are both capable of transition to SMCs. (b) Differential potential of the resident stem and progenitor cells present in the blood vessel. AdvSca1⁺ progenitor cells (APC) reside in the tunica adventitia and have the ability to differentiate into ECs and vSMCs. VW-EPS were isolated from the vasculogenic zone of the tunica adventitia. These cells can differentiate into vSMCs, adipocytes, osteocytes, chondrocytes, and pericytes. VW-EPS were found in the external elastic lamina and were shown to form capillaries in culture and increase expression of mature EC markers during the process. MSCs have been isolated from both the tunica media and the tunica adventitia and have been shown to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, marrow stromal cells, and SMCs. MVSCs were present in the tunica media and have the ability to differentiate into neurons, Schwann cells, and MSC-like progenitor cells. Once the MVSCs have transitioned into a MSC-like state they are capable of differentiating into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and vSMCs. Inset: Hedgehog regulation of progenitor cells present in the vessel wall.

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