CLIC4 Regulates Maturation of Cerebral Collaterals

What are collateral arterioles, and how can the number of such collaterals in the brain affect recovery from stroke? Listen as Guest Editor Akos Koller (New York Medical College) interviews first author Jennifer Lucitti (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and content expert Mordecai Blaustein (University of Maryland Medical School) about this fascinating new study, which investigated the formation of collaterals both pre- and postnatal, as well as the role of chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) protein in collateral formation. Lucitti and colleagues found that there is a specific time when collaterals formed during embryogenesis, which can be very important later in life if larger arteries are blocked. At the molecular level, what exciting relationship did the authors find between vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and CLIC 4 during collaterogenesis? Is prevention of collateral pruning and enhancement of collateral stabilization later in life a promising therapeutic target for stroke? Listen now.

Jennifer L. Lucitti, Natalie J. Tarte, James E. Faber Chloride intracellular channel 4 is required for maturation of the cerebral collateral circulation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published October 1, 2015, DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00451.2015.