Assembly of the Vasculature and Its Regulation

This is the first comprehensive treatise that deals with the formation of blood vessels during embryonic development. Assembly of the Vasculature and its Regulation presents our most current understanding of vascular angiogenesis and vasculogenesis at the molecular scale. The book covers the events and regulatory factors that characterize vessel formation during the prenatal and perinatal periods. It describes the proliferation, migration and differentiation of angioblasts, their assembly into vascular tubes, the subsequent growth of these structures and the addition of medial and adventitial components to form the functional network that is the vascular system. The first half of the book details the major issues concerned with vessel formation and its regulation (growth factors and their receptors, extracellular matrix, adhesion molecules, and smooth muscle differentiation). The second half covers vascular development in a number of organs (heart, central nervous system, kidney, lung, and placenta). The book is an important reference work for all students and researchers working in vascular biology.