BMP4 regulates vascular progenitor development in human embryonic stem cells through a smad-dependent pathway

✍ Scribed by Hao Bai; Yongxing Gao; Melanie Arzigian; Don M. Wojchowski; Wen-shu Wu; Zack Z. Wang

• Book ID: 102876089
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 564 KB
• Volume: 109
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-2312
• DOI: 10.1002/jcb.22410

✦ Synopsis

The signals that direct pluripotent stem cell differentiation into lineage-specific cells remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the roles of BMP on vascular progenitor development from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). In a serum-free condition, hESCs sequentially differentiated into CD34þCD31À, CD34þCD31þ, and then CD34ÀCD31þ cells during vascular cell development. CD34þCD31þ cells contained vascular progenitor population that gives rise to endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. BMP4 promoted hESC differentiation into CD34þCD31þ cells at an early stage. In contrast, TGFb suppressed BMP4-induced CD34þCD31þ cell development, and promoted CD34þCD31À cells that failed to give rise to either endothelial or smooth muscle cells. The BMP-Smad inhibitor, dorsomorphin, inhibited phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8, and blocked hESC differentiation to CD34þCD31þ progenitor cells, suggesting that BMP Smad-dependent signaling is critical for CD34þCD31þ vascular progenitor development. Our findings provide new insight into how pluripotent hESCs differentiate into vascular cells.