Endothelial struts, a mechanism to generate large lumenized blood vessels de novo

Lumenization of formed blood vessels occurs either through cell hollowing (intracellular lumen) or cord hollowing (extracellular lumen) and restricts thereby the initial lumen diameter to one or two endothelial cells (ECs) respectively. However, vasculogenesis can result in large diameter blood vessels, raising the question how these vessels are formed. Here, we describe an alternative model of vasculogenesis that results in the formation of large diameter vessels. In this model, ECs coalesce into a branched network of EC struts within the future lumen of the vessel. These struts maintain the patency of the vessel and serve as a scaffold for the ECs forming the vessel wall, which initially consists out of a few patches of ECs. Together, we show that endothelial struts facilitate the formation of large blood vessels without being bound by the prerequisite of a cord-like structure, nor are they restricted in size.