1: S Developmental regression of hyaloid vasculature is triggered by neurons.

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE.

213 (7):1175-1183;10.1084/jem.20151966 JUN 27 2016

Yoshikawa Yusuke, Yamada Toru, Tai-Nagara Ikue, Okabe Keisuke, Kitagawa Yuko, Ema Masatsugu, Kubota Yoshiaki

Blood vessels are distributed throughout the human body. The process of forming this vascular network is not simply a matter of increasing branches; it also requires the regression of unnecessary parts and customization to the body's growth at each stage. One example of this is the hyaloid vasculature in the eyeball. Normally, the hyaloid vasculature is only present during the fetal period and regresses by birth. However, if this regression is incomplete, it can lead to a congenital disease that impairs vision called persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV). The first challenge in this study was to establish a technique for visualizing the hyaloid vasculature. After much trial and error, we succeeded in observing the entire hyaloid vasculature in a single field of view by dissecting it as a single mass with the iris. Using this technique, we discovered that the regression of the hyaloid vasculature is initiated by the uptake and digestion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by neurons. This study is a classic and simple experiment involving the morphological observation of mouse tissue, but we believe its uniqueness lies in our commitment to visualization through delicate manual techniques. To extrapolate, we believe that even in classical morphological analysis, there are still many important biological phenomena to be discovered through the refinement of manual techniques, and we continue our research with this in mind.

(Yoshiaki Kubota [79th class] and Yusuke Yoshikawa [88th class], Department of Functional Morphology, Sakaguchi-Kinen)

Nat Neurosci.

19(9), 1118-1122, 2016.

Grillner S, Ip N, Koch C, Koroshetz W, Okano H, Polachek M, Poo M-m, Sejnowski T. *All authors are corresponding authors.