Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) commonly involves injury of kidney glomerular endothelial cells (ECs) and fibrin occlusion of the capillaries. The mechanisms underlying repair of the microvasculature and recovery of kidney function are poorly defined. In the developing vasculature, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) α isoform integrates many growth factor cues. However, the role of individual isoforms in repair of the established vasculature is unclear. We found that postnatal endothelial deletion of PI3Kβ sensitizes mice to lethal acute kidney failure after TMA injury. In vitro, PI3Kβ-deficient ECs show reduced angiogenic invasion of fibrin matrix with unaltered sensitivity to proapoptotic stress compared with wild-type ECs. This correlates with decreased expression of the EC tip cell markers apelin and Dll4 and is associated with a reduction in migration and proliferation. In vivo, PI3Kβ-knockdown ECs are deficient in assembly of microvessel-like structures. These data identify a critical role for endothelial PI3Kβ in microvascular repair following injury.
© 2014 by The American Society of Hematology.