Endothelial Cells Lining Sporadic Cerebral Cavernous Malformation Cavernomas Undergo Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

Abstract excerpt

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is characterized by multiple lumen vascular malformations in the central nervous system that can cause neurological symptoms and brain hemorrhages. About 20% of CCM patients have an inherited form of the disease with ubiquitous loss-of-function mutation in any one of 3 genes CCM1, CCM2, and CCM3. The rest of patients develop sporadic vascular lesions...