Vascularisation of the central nervous system

The developing central nervous system (CNS) is vascularised through the angiogenic invasion of blood vessels from a perineural vascular plexus, followed by continued sprouting and remodelling until a hierarchical vascular network is formed. Remarkably, vascularisation occurs without perturbing the intricate architecture of the neurogenic niches or the emerging neural networks. We discuss the mouse hind brain, forebrain and retina as widely used models to study developmental angiogenesis in the mammalian CNS and provide an overview of key cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the vascularisation of these organs.