Endothelial cells and angiogenesis in the horse in health and disease—A review

The cardiovascular system is the first functional organ in the embryo, and its blood vessels form a widespread conductive network within the organism. Blood vessels develop de novo, by the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells (vasculogenesis) or by angiogenesis, which is the formation of new blood vessels from existing ones. This review presents an overview of the current knowledge on physiological and pathological angiogenesis in the horse including studies on equine endothelial cells. Principal study fields in equine angiogenesis research were identified: equine endothelial progenitor cells; equine endothelial cells and angiogenesis (heterogeneity, markers and assessment); endothelial regulatory molecules in equine angiogenesis; angiogenesis research in equine reproduction (ovary, uterus, placenta and conceptus, testis); angiogenesis research in pathological conditions (tumours, ocular pathologies, equine wound healing, musculoskeletal system and laminitis). The review also includes a table that summarizes in vitro studies on equine endothelial cells, either describing the isolation procedure or using previously isolated endothelial cells. A particular challenge of the review was that results published are fragmentary and sometimes even contradictory, raising more questions than they answer. In conclusion, angiogenesis is a major factor in several diseases frequently occurring in horses, but relatively few studies focus on angiogenesis in the horse. The challenge for the future is therefore to continue exploring new therapeutic angiogenesis strategies for horses to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle

Genetic engineering of Indica rice in support of sustained production of affordable and high quality food in developing countries

Indica-type rice provides the staple food for two billion people in Third World countries. Several problems involved in the stable and sustained production of high quality food cannot be solved by traditional breeding. Methods have been established for gene transfer to Indica rice breeding lines to study possible contributions from genetic engineering. Experiments are in progress on the development of transgenic resistance towards Yellow Stem Borer, resistance towards Rice Tungro Virus, accumulation of provitamin A in the endosperm, increase of essential amino acids in the endosperm such as lysine, cysteine and methionine and resistance towards fungal pests such as Rice Blast and Sheath Blight. Transgenic clones from Indica rice breeding lines have been recovered from several of the approaches mentioned, some of which have been regenerated to plants