Blood Budding

In a silently shifting network blood vessels grow and reorganise throughout our lives. Not only do they supply blood to our vital organs they appear to provide a roadmap for overlying nerves. Here, blood vessels are seen end-on (green/yellow) in a cross section of bladder wall from a mouse. The animals were supplied with VEGF -a protein known to activate growth of new blood vessels. By highlighting proliferating cells (dyed red), as expected, new vessels can be seen budding from old (arrowed) – a process called angiogenesis. But the researchers also found that inflamed areas (blue lined) with a lot of nerves, had also grown. It seems that VEGF is responsible for the redistribution of nerve cells that happens as a result of bladder inflammation. By probing the complex connections between blood vessels and nerves, scientists are moving towards dulling the discomfort of painful bladder conditions.

Written by Hayley Birch

Hayley Birch

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Freelance science writer and editor with a sideline in quirky science communication projects. Music fan, @geekpop conspirator, terrible saucier.

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• Ricardo Saban
• Department of Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA
• Originally published under Creative Commons (CC-BY 2.0)
• Published in BMC Physiology