VASCULAR SYSTEM DEFECTS AND NEURONAL APOPTOSIS IN MICE LACKING RAS GTPASE-ACTIVATING PROTEIN

The gene encoding p120-rasGAP, a negative regulator of pas, has been d isrupted in mice. This Gap mutation affects the ability of endothelial cells to organize into a highly vascularized network and results in e xtensive neuronal cell death. Mutations in the Gap and Nf1 genes have a synergistic effect, such that embryos homozygous for mutations in bo th genes show an exacerbated Gap phenotype. Thus rasGAP and neurofibro min act together to regulate pas activity during embryonic development .