Suppression of vascular network formation by chronic hypoxia and prolyl-hydroxylase 2 (phd2) deficiency during vertebrate development

In the adult, new vessels and red blood cells form in response to hypoxia. Here, the oxygen-sensing system (PHD–HIF) has recently been put into focus, since the prolyl-hydroxylase domain proteins (PHD) and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) are considered as potential therapeutic targets to treat ischemia, cancers or age-related macula degeneration. While the oxygen-sensing system (PHD–HIF) has been studied intensively in this respect, only little is known from developing vertebrate embryos since mutations within this pathway led to an early decease of embryos due to placental defects. During vertebrate embryogenesis, a progenitor cell called hemangioblast is assumed to give rise to blood cells and blood vessels in a process called hematopoiesis and vasculogenesis, respectively. Xenopus provides an ideal experimental system to address these processes in vivo, as its development does not depend on a functional placenta and thus allows analyzing the role of oxygen directly. To this end, we adopted a computer-controlled four-channel system, which allowed us to culture Xenopus embryos under defined oxygen concentrations. Our data show that the development of vascular structures and blood cells is strongly impaired under hypoxia, while general development is less compromised. Interestingly, suppression of Phd2 function using specific antisense morpholinos or a chemical inhibitor resulted in mostly overlapping vascular defects; nevertheless, blood cell was formed almost normally. Our results provide the first evidence that oxygen via Phd2 has a decisive influence on the formation of the vascular network during vertebrate embryogenesis. These findings may be considered in certain potential treatment concepts.