Spotlight on Research

Coveney D, Cool J, Oliver T, and Capel B (2008). Four-dimensional analysis of vascularization during primary development of an organ, the gonad.
PNAS, 105 (20): pp 7212-7217.

sample movie (click image to view)

Left panel shows a 4-D movie of vascular development of the testis and coinciding vascular remodeling. Endothelial cells, labeled green, migrate from an adjacent tissue into the gonad en route to forming a large vessel along the surface of the organ. Surprisingly,  the migration is composed of individual cells that enter the tissue and not angiogenic sprouts leading to the description of a novel mechanism of vascular remodeling. On the right is a dark field image of the same movie focusing only on endothelial cell behavior.