Diverse Functions of Retinoic Acid in Brain Vascular Development

Abstract

Work presented here provides novel insight into important yet little understood aspects of brain vascular development, implicating for the first time a factor upstream of endothelial WNT signaling. We show that RA is permissive for cerebrovascular growth via suppression of WNT inhibitor expression in the neocortex. RA also functions cell-autonomously in brain endothelial cells to modulate WNT signaling and its downstream target, Sox17. The significance of this is although endothelial WNT signaling is required for neurovascular development, too much endothelial WNT signaling, as well as overexpression of its target Sox17, are detrimental. Therefore, RA may act as a "brake" on endothelial WNT signaling and Sox17 to ensure normal brain vascular development.