Induction of Brain Arteriovenous Malformation in the Adult Mouse

Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) are tangles of abnormal, dilated vessels that directly shunt blood between the arteries and veins. The pathogenesis of bAVM is currently unknown. Patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) have a higher prevalence of bAVM than the general population. Animal models are important tools for dissecting the disease etiopathogenesis and for testing new therapies. Here, we introduce a method that induces the bAVM phenotype through regional deletion of activin-like kinase 1 (Alk1 , the causal gene for HHT2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulation.