Advances in Vascular Malformations: From Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms to Clinical Therapies and Management

Vascular malformations refer to a wide range of structural abnormalities that can affect all vessel types in the blood and vascular lymphatic trees – including arteries, capillaries, and veins. Vascular malformation diseases can be inherited or can occur spontaneously; however, in all cases, resulting vascular lesions can significantly compromise cardiovascular and organ function and reduce patient quality-of-life. Although the overall prevalence of vascular malformations is difficult to determine in part because many lesions develop silently in visceral tissue, some studies estimate that vascular malformations may affect as many as 1 - 5% of the general population.

In this Research Topic, we aim to gather contributions from scientists and clinicians to share recent advances in our understanding of the biology and treatment of vascular malformations. Our goals include consolidating recent research on vascular malformation biology and treatment practices, and identifying disease- or lesion-specific differences across different vascular malformation subtypes. We also aim to include new theories and models regarding the initiation, progression, and chronicity of vascular malformations, and highlighting innovative preclinical tools for studying these conditions. Ultimately, we aim to accelerate the development of new therapeutic treatments for patients with vascular malformations affecting blood or lymphatic vessels.

Authors are invited to submit original research articles, reviews, or opinion papers related (but not limited) to the following topics:
• New in vivo or bioengineered in vitro 3D models and their applications for studying vascular malformations
• New findings related to molecular mechanisms of lesion development and pathobiology of disease
• New findings related to non-cell autonomous contributions to vascular malformation
• Insights on cell and tissue heterogeneity from bioinformatic analysis of vascular malformations
• Current and new therapeutic targets in disease management
• Integration of disease morbidities, genome-wide association studies, and clinical studies concerning vascular malformations
• Literature reviews that integrate recent basic and/or clinical findings

This is a Research Topic initiated by NAVBO, the North American Vascular Biology Organization.

Articles that are accepted for publication in this Research Topic following rigorous review by our external editors and external peer reviewers incur a publishing fee charged to paper authors, institutions, or funders.
The following types of manuscripts are invited for submission to this Topic:
• Original research reports
• Brief research reports
• Clinical trials
• Case reports
• Community case studies
• Systematic reviews
• Reviews
• Mini reviews
• Methods
• Perspectives
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Opinions

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Vascular Malformations, Vascular Lesions, Molecular Pathogenesis, Bioengineered 3D Models, Therapeutic Targets, Cellular Heterogeneity, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Lymphatic Vessels, Society Affiliation RT

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.