Regulation of vascular size and shape by a mechano-responsive transcriptional mechanism (A06)

• Subject Area: Anatomy and Physiology
• Term: from 2010 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 75732319

How blood vessels reach, retain, and adapt their size and shape is a fundamental question in vascular biology. Here we will study the role of YAP/TAZ signalling in vascular size and shape regulation, two mechano-responsive transcriptional cofactors that function as effectors of the evolutionarily conserved Hippo pathway. We put forward the hypothesis that endothelial YAP/TAZ function as crucial "Readers" and "Mediators" of microenvironmental cues that adapt vessel growth and morphogenesis to tissue-specific properties. Delineating the general principles of endothelial YAP/TAZ signalling promises to reveal novel insights into organ-specific vascular development with implications for vessel type- and vascular bed-specific diseases.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 834: Endothelial Signalling and Vascular Repair
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Michael Potente