Lack of CYR61 (CCN1) correlates with vascular shortfall in placenta.

2003 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An extracellular protein known as CYR61 is an essential element of placenta formation and vascularity.

"CYR61 (CCN1) is a member of the CCN family of secreted matricellular proteins that includes connective tissue growth factor (CCN2), NOV (CCN3), WISP-1 (CCN4), WISP-2 (CCN5), and WISP-3 (CCN6). First identified as the product of a growth factor-inducible immediate-early gene, CYR61 is an extracellular matrix-associated angiogenic inducer that functions as a ligand of integrin receptors to promote cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Aberrant expression of Cyr61 (gene) is associated with breast cancer, wound healing, and vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis," researchers in the United States report.

"To understand the functions of CYR61 during development, we have disrupted the Cyr61 gene in mice. We show here that Cyr61-null mice suffer embryonic death: approximately 30% succumbed to a failure in chorioallantoic fusion, and the reminder perished due to placental vascular insufficiency and compromised vessel integrity," commented F.E. Mo and colleagues, University of Illinois, Department of Molecular Genetics.

"These findings establish CYR61 as a novel and essential regulator of vascular development. CYR61 deficiency results in a specific ...