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Event: 110

Key Event Title

The KE title should describe a discrete biological change that can be measured. It should generally define the biological object or process being measured and whether it is increased, decreased, or otherwise definably altered relative to a control state. For example “enzyme activity, decreased”, “hormone concentration, increased”, or “growth rate, decreased”, where the specific enzyme or hormone being measured is defined. More help

Impairment, Endothelial network

Short name

The KE short name should be a reasonable abbreviation of the KE title and is used in labelling this object throughout the AOP-Wiki. The short name should be less than 80 characters in length. More help

Biological Context

Structured terms, selected from a drop-down menu, are used to identify the level of biological organization for each KE. Note, KEs should be defined within a particular level of biological organization. Only KERs should be used to transition from one level of organization to another. Selection of the level of biological organization defines which structured terms will be available to select when defining the Event Components (below). More help

Cell term

Further information on Event Components and Biological Context may be viewed on the attached pdf.The biological context describes the location/biological environment in which the event takes place. For molecular/cellular events this would include the cellular context (if known), organ context, and species/life stage/sex for which the event is relevant. For tissue/organ events cellular context is not applicable. For individual/population events, the organ context is not applicable. More help

Organ term

Organ term
embryo

Key Event Components

Further information on Event Components and Biological Context may be viewed on the attached pdf.Because one of the aims of the AOP-KB is to facilitate de facto construction of AOP networks through the use of shared KE and KER elements, authors are also asked to define their KEs using a set of structured ontology terms (Event Components). In the absence of structured terms, the same KE can readily be defined using a number of synonymous titles (read by a computer as character strings). In order to make these synonymous KEs more machine-readable, KEs should also be defined by one or more “event components” consisting of a biological process, object, and action with each term originating from one of 22 biological ontologies (Ives, et al., 2017; See List). Biological process describes dynamics of the underlying biological system (e.g., receptor signalling). The biological object is the subject of the perturbation (e.g., a specific biological receptor that is activated or inhibited). Action represents the direction of perturbation of this system (generally increased or decreased; e.g., ‘decreased’ in the case of a receptor that is inhibited to indicate a decrease in the signalling by that receptor).Note that when editing Event Components, clicking an existing Event Component from the Suggestions menu will autopopulate these fields, along with their source ID and description. To clear any fields before submitting the event component, use the 'Clear process,' 'Clear object,' or 'Clear action' buttons. If a desired term does not exist, a new term request may be made via Term Requests. Event components may not be edited; to edit an event component, remove the existing event component and create a new one using the terms that you wish to add. More help

Process	Object	Action
endothelium development		abnormal

Key Event Overview

AOPs Including This Key Event

All of the AOPs that are linked to this KE will automatically be listed in this subsection. This table can be particularly useful for derivation of AOP networks including the KE. Clicking on the name of the AOP will bring you to the individual page for that AOP. More help

AOP Name	Role of event in AOP	Point of Contact	Author Status	OECD Status
Developmental Vascular Toxicity	KeyEvent	Tom Knudsen (send email)	Open for citation & comment	EAGMST Under Review
AHR activation to ELS mortality, via VEGF	KeyEvent	Amani Farhat (send email)	Open for citation & comment	TFHA/WNT Endorsed

Stressors

This is a structured field used to identify specific agents (generally chemicals) that can trigger the KE. Stressors identified in this field will be linked to the KE in a machine-readable manner, such that, for example, a stressor search would identify this as an event the stressor can trigger. NOTE: intermediate or downstream KEs in one AOP may function as MIEs in other AOPs, meaning that stressor information may be added to the KE description, even if it is a downstream KE in the pathway currently under development.Information concerning the stressors that may trigger an MIE can be defined using a combination of structured and unstructured (free-text) fields. For example, structured fields may be used to indicate specific chemicals for which there is evidence of an interaction relevant to this MIE. By linking the KE description to a structured chemical name, it will be increasingly possible to link the MIE to other sources of chemical data and information, enhancing searchability and inter-operability among different data-sources and knowledgebases. The free-text section “Evidence for perturbation of this MIE by stressor” can be used both to identify the supporting evidence for specific stressors triggering the MIE as well as to define broad chemical categories or other properties that classify the stressors able to trigger the MIE for which specific structured terms may not exist. More help

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) can be selected from an ontology. In many cases, individual species identified in these structured fields will be those for which the strongest evidence used in constructing the AOP was available in relation to this KE. More help

Term	Scientific Term	Evidence	Link
Vertebrates	Vertebrates	High	NCBI

Life Stages

The structured ontology terms for life-stage are more comprehensive than those for taxa, but may still require further description/development and explanation in the free text section. More help

Life stage	Evidence
Embryo	High
Development	High

Sex Applicability

No help message More help

Term	Evidence
Unspecific	High

Key Event Description

A description of the biological state being observed or measured, the biological compartment in which it is measured, and its general role in the biology should be provided. For example, the biological state being measured could be the activity of an enzyme, the expression of a gene or abundance of an mRNA transcript, the concentration of a hormone or protein, neuronal activity, heart rate, etc. The biological compartment may be a particular cell type, tissue, organ, fluid (e.g., plasma, cerebrospinal fluid), etc. The role in the biology could describe the reaction that an enzyme catalyses and the role of that reaction within a given metabolic pathway; the protein that a gene or mRNA transcript codes for and the function of that protein; the function of a hormone in a given target tissue, physiological function of an organ, etc. Careful attention should be taken to avoid reference to other KEs, KERs or AOPs. Only describe this KE as a single isolated measurable event/state. This will ensure that the KE is modular and can be used by other AOPs, thereby facilitating construction of AOP networks. More help

In embryological terms the angiogenic cycle entails a stepwise progression of de novo blood vessel morphogenesis (vasculogenesis), maturation and expansion (angiogenesis), and remodeling [Hanahan, 1997; Chung and Ferrara 2011; Coultas et al. 2005]. These events commence as angioblasts migrate, proliferate, and assemble into a tubular network. With maturation, the endothelial tubules co-opt local stromal cells as pericytes and smooth muscle. Local signals acting on receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and glycosyl phosphatidyl-inositol (GPI)-anchored receptors, and later vascular flow-mediated signals. The process of endothelial assembly into a tubular network may be disrupted by environmental agents [Sarkanen et al. 2010; McCollum et al. 2017; Saili et al. 2019; Nguyen et al. 2016; Tal et al. 2017].

How It Is Measured or Detected

One of the primary considerations in evaluating AOPs is the relevance and reliability of the methods with which the KEs can be measured. The aim of this section of the KE description is not to provide detailed protocols, but rather to capture, in a sentence or two, per method, the type(s) of measurements that can be employed to evaluate the KE and the relative level of scientific confidence in those measurements. Methods that can be used to detect or measure the biological state represented in the KE should be briefly described and/or cited. These can range from citation of specific validated test guidelines, citation of specific methods published in the peer reviewed literature, or outlines of a general protocol or approach (e.g., a protein may be measured by ELISA).Key considerations regarding scientific confidence in the measurement approach include whether the assay is fit for purpose, whether it provides a direct or indirect measure of the biological state in question, whether it is repeatable and reproducible, and the extent to which it is accepted in the scientific and/or regulatory community. Information can be obtained from the OECD Test Guidelines website and the EURL ECVAM Database Service on Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation (DB-ALM). ?

Endothelial tubule formation (tubulogenesis) can be monitored both qualitatively and quantitatively in vitro using different human cell-based angiogenesis assays that score endothelial cell migration and the degree of tubular network formation, including cell counts, tubule counts, tubule length, tubule area, tubule intensity, and node counts [Muller et al. 2002; Masckauchan et al. 2005; Sarkanen et al. 2010; Knudsen et al. 2016; Nguyen et al. 2016]. Standard practice for reproducible in vitro tubule formation uses endothelial cells co-cultured with stromal cells [Bishop et al. 1999]. Cell types commonly employed are human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) or more recently induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived to endothelial cells through various differentiation and purification protocols. The assay is run in agonist or antagonist modes to detect chemical enhancement or suppression of tubulogenesis. Synthetic hydrogels are shown to promote robust in vitro network formation by HUVEC or iPSC-ECs as well as their utilization to detect putative vascular disruptive compounds [Nguyen et al. 2017]. Endothelial networks formed on synthetic hydrogels showed superior sensitivity and reproducibility when compared to endothelial networks formed on Matrigel.

Domain of Applicability

This free text section should be used to elaborate on the scientific basis for the indicated domains of applicability and the WoE calls (if provided). While structured terms may be selected to define the taxonomic, life stage and sex applicability (see structured applicability terms, above) of the KE, the structured terms may not adequately reflect or capture the overall biological applicability domain (particularly with regard to taxa). Likewise, the structured terms do not provide an explanation or rationale for the selection. The free-text section on evidence for taxonomic, life stage, and sex applicability can be used to elaborate on why the specific structured terms were selected, and provide supporting references and background information. More help

Blood vessel development utilizes highly conserved molecular pathways that are active across vertebrate species. Anatomically, however, the molecular toolbox for vasculogenesis/angiogenesis has varied themes for arterial, venous, and lymphatic channels, as well as across different organs and species [Tal et al. 2017]. ToxCast high-throughput screening (HTS) data for 25 assays mapping to targets in embryonic vascular disruption signature [Knudsen and Kleinstreuer, 2011] were used to rank-order 1060 chemicals for their potential to disrupt vascular development. The predictivity of this signature is being evaluated in various angiogenesis assays, including tubulogenesis in endothelial cells from zebrafish, chick, mouse and human species [Tal et al. 2017; Vargesson et al. 2003; Saili et al. 2019; McCollum et al. 2017; Nguyen et al. 2017, Zurlinden et al. 2020]. As an example, a zebrafish embryo vascular model in conjunction with a mouse endothelial cell model identified 28 potential vascular disruptor compounds (pVDCs) from ToxCast. These exposures invoked a plethora of vascular perturbations in the zebrafish embryo, including malformed intersegmental vessels, uncondensed caudal vein plexus, hemorrhages and cardiac edema; 22 pVDCs inhibited endothelial tubulogenesis in an yolk-sac-derived endothelial cell line [McCollum et al. 2017]. The VEGF pathway was implicated across mouse-zebrafish species. Because gene sequence similarity of the ToxCast pVDC signature is comprised of proteins that primarily map to human in vitro and biochemical assays, the U.S. EPA SeqAPASS tool was used to assess the degree of conservation of signature targets between zebrafish and human, as well as other commonly used model organisms in human health and environmental toxicology research [Tal et al. 2017]. This approach revealed that key nodes in the ontogenetic regulation of angiogenesis have evolved across diverse species.

References

List of the literature that was cited for this KE description. Ideally, the list of references, should conform, to the extent possible, with the OECD Style Guide (https://www.oecd.org/about/publishing/OECD-Style-Guide-Third-Edition.pdf) (OECD, 2015). More help

Bishop ET, Bell GT, Bloor S, Broom IJ, Hendry NFK and Wheatley DN. An in vitro model of angiogenesis: Basic features. Angiogenesis. 1999 3(4): 335-344.

Chung AS, Ferrara N. Developmental and pathological angiogenesis. Annual review of cell and developmental biology. 2011;27:563-84. PubMed PMID: 21756109.

Coultas L, Chawengsaksophak K, Rossant J. Endothelial cells and VEGF in vascular development. Nature. 2005 Dec 15;438(7070):937-45. PubMed PMID: 16355211.

Hanahan D. Signaling vascular morphogenesis and maintenance. Science. 1997 Jul 4;277(5322):48-50. PubMed PMID: 9229772.

Knudsen TB, Kleinstreuer NC. Disruption of embryonic vascular development in predictive toxicology. Birth defects research Part C, Embryo today : reviews. 2011;93(4):312-23.

Masckauchan TN, Shawber CJ, Funahashi Y, Li CM, Kitajewski J. Wnt/beta-catenin signaling induces proliferation, survival and interleukin-8 in human endothelial cells. Angiogenesis. 2005;8(1):43-51. PubMed PMID: 16132617.

McCollum CW, Conde-Vancells J, Hans C, Vazquez-Chantada M, Kleinstreuer N, Tal T, Knudsen T, Shah SS, Merchant FA, Finnell RH, Gustafsson JA, Cabrera R and Bondesson M. Identification of vascular disruptor compounds by analysis in zebrafish embryos and mouse embryonic endothelial cells. Reprod Toxicol. 2017; 70: 60-69. PMID:27838387.

Muller T, Bain G, Wang X, Papkoff J. Regulation of epithelial cell migration and tumor formation by beta-catenin signaling. Experimental cell research. 2002 Oct 15;280(1):119-33. PubMed PMID: 12372345.

Nguyen EH, Daly WT, Le NNT, Farnoodian M, Belair DG, Schwartz MP, Lebakken CS, Ananiev GE, Saghiri MA, Knudsen TB, Sheibani N and Murphy WL. Versatile synthetic alternatives to Matrigel for vascular toxicity screening and stem cell expansion. Nat Biomed Eng. 2017; 1 PMID:29104816.

Saili KS, Franzosa JA, Baker NC, Ellis-Hutchings RG, Settivari RS, Carney EW, Spencer R, Zurlinden TJ, Kleinstreuer NC, Li S, Xia M and Knudsen TB. Systems Modeling of Developmental Vascular Toxicity. Curr Opin Toxicol. 2019; 15(1): 55-63. PMID:32030360.

Sarkanen JR, Mannerstrom M, Vuorenpaa H, Uotila J, Ylikomi T, Heinonen T. Intra-Laboratory Pre-Validation of a Human Cell Based in vitro Angiogenesis Assay for Testing Angiogenesis Modulators. Frontiers in pharmacology. 2010;1:147.

Tal T, Kilty C, Smith A, LaLone C, Kennedy B, Tennant A, McCollum CW, Bondesson M, Knudsen T, Padilla S and Kleinstreuer N. Screening for angiogenic inhibitors in zebrafish to evaluate a predictive model for developmental vascular toxicity. Reprod Toxicol. 2017; 70: 70-81. PMID:28007540.

Vargesson N. Vascularization of the developing chick limb bud: role of the TGFβ signalling pathway. J Anat. 2016 Jan, 202(1): 93-103. PMCID: PMC1571066.

Zurlinden TJ, Saili KS, Baker NC, Toimela T, Heinonen T and Knudsen TB. A cross-platform approach to characterize and screen potential neurovascular unit toxicants. Reprod Toxicol. 2020; 96: 300-315. PMID:32590145.