Association between erythrocyte dynamics and vessel remodelling in developmental vascular networks

Sprouting angiogenesis is an essential vascularisation mechanism and consists of two phases: sprouting and remodelling. The remodelling phase is driven by rearrangements of endothelial cells (ECs) within the primitive vascular plexus. Prior work has uncovered how ECs polarise and migrate in response to flow-induced wall shear stress (WSS). However, the question of how the presence of red blood cells (RBCs), and their profound impact on microvascular haemodynamics, affect vascular remodelling has not been addressed. Here, we extend our computational framework to model blood flow in developmental mouse retina as a suspension of RBCs. Our results demonstrate a previously unreported highly heterogeneous distribution of RBCs in the post-sprouting vascular network. Furthermore, we report a strong association between vessel regression and RBC depletion, and identify plasma skimming as the driving mechanism. Live imaging in a developmental zebrafish model confirms this association. Taken together, our results indicate that RBC dynamics are fundamental for establishing the regional WSS differences driving vascular remodelling via their ability to modulate effective viscosity.