Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2020, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (10): 1807-1813.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.280305

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Role of activin receptor-like kinase 1 in vascular development and cerebrovascular diseases

Jun-Mou Hong1, Yi-Da Hu2, Xiao-Qing Chai3, Chao-Liang Tang3   

  1. 1 Department of Vascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
    2 Department of Anesthesiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
    3 Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and
    Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • Online:2020-10-15 Published:2020-08-04
  • Contact: Xiao-Qing Chai, MD,xiaoqingchai@163.com; Chao-Liang Tang, MD, PhD,chaolt@ustc.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81801175 (to CLT); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China, No. WK9110000044 (to CLT); China Scholarship Council, No. 201706270155 (to CLT); the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. 2019M662179 (to CLT); and the Anhui Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China, No. 2019B324 (to CLT).

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Abstract: Activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) is a transmembrane serine/threonine receptor kinase of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor superfamily. ALK1 is specifically expressed in vascular endothelial cells, and its dynamic changes are closely related to the proliferation of endothelial cells, the recruitment of pericytes to blood vessels, and functional differentiation during embryonic vascular development. The pathophysiology of many cerebrovascular diseases is today understood as a disorder of endothelial cell function and an imbalance in the proportion of vascular cells. Indeed, mutations in ALK1 and its co-receptor endoglin are major genetic risk factors for vascular arteriovenous malformation. Many studies have shown that ALK1 is closely related to the development of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and cerebral atherosclerosis. In this review, we describe the various roles of ALK1 in the regulation of angiogenesis and in the maintenance of cerebral vascular homeostasis, and we discuss its relationship to functional dysregulation in cerebrovascular diseases. This review should provide new perspectives for basic research on cerebrovascular diseases and offer more effective targets and strategies for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Key words: activin receptor-like kinase 1, aneurysm, atherosclerotic plaque, endoglin, extracellular matrix protein, intracranial arteriovenous malformation, matrix metalloproteinase, pericyte, transforming growth factor beta 1 pathway, vascular development