A central function for perlecan in skeletal muscle and cardiovascular development.

Perlecan's developmental functions are difficult to dissect in placental animals because perlecan disruption is embryonic lethal. In contrast to mammals, cardiovascular function is not essential for early zebrafish development because the embryos obtain adequate oxygen by diffusion. In this study, we use targeted protein depletion coupled with protein-based rescue experiments to investigate the involvement of perlecan and its C-terminal domain V/endorepellin in zebrafish development.

Endorepellin, the C-terminal angiostatic module of perlecan, enhances collagen-platelet responses via the alpha2beta1-integrin receptor.

Endorepellin, a C-terminal fragment of the vascular basement membrane proteoglycan perlecan, inhibits angiogenesis via the alpha2beta1-integrin receptor. Because this integrin is also implicated in platelet-collagen responses and because endorepellin or its fragments are generated in response to injury and inflammation, we hypothesized that endorepellin could also affect platelet biology. We discovered that endorepellin supported alpha2beta1-dependent platelet adhesion, without appreciably activating or aggregating platelets.