Role of the Angiopoietin / Tie signaling in oligodendrocyte specification and function

• Applicant: Professorin Carmen Ruiz de Almodovar Egea, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Developmental Neurobiology ; Anatomy and Physiology ; Developmental Biology
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 269353708

Communication between neural cells and the growing vasculature is essential for proper formation and function of the central nervous system. Angiopoietins and their receptor Tie2 are well known for their function in building and maintaining a functional vascular system. Our results of the first funding period indicate that they can also act on neural cells and modulate their development. In particular, we found that Angiopietin/Tie2 signaling is important for granule cell migration and Purkinje cell branching during cerebellar development. In the next funding period, we aim to expand our research to another interesting neural-vascular interface: the oligovascular niche of the spinal cord. Our preliminary results indicate that Ang1 is expressed in a subset of neuronal progenitors of the developing spinal cord and that this expression is important for oligodendrocyte precursor specification. We aim to understand this newly identified role of Ang1 and study its importance in myelination under physiological and pathological conditions. Altogether this project will bring new insight into the neuro-vascular function of Angiopoetins and Tie2 and their potential as therapeutic targets.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 2325: Interactions at the Neurovascular Interface