Establishment of Neurovascular Congruency in the Mouse Whisker System by an Independent Patterning Mechanism

Nerves and vessels often run parallel to one another, a phenomenon that reflects their functional interdependency. Previous studies have suggested that neurovascular congruency in planar tissues such as skin is established through a “one-patterns-the-other” model, in which either the nervous system or the vascular system precedes developmentally and then instructs the other system to form using its established architecture as a template. Here, we find that, in tissues with complex three-dimensional structures such as the mouse whisker system, neurovascular congruency does not follow the previous model but rather is established via a mechanism in which nerves and vessels are patterned independently. Given the diversity of neurovascular structures in different tissues, guidance signals emanating from a central organizer in the specific target tissue may act as an important mechanism to establish neurovascular congruency patterns that facilitate unique target tissue function. •Nerves and vessels organize into “double ring” structure in the whisker follicle•Nerve ring and vessel ring are patterned independent of each other•Double rings are patterned by differential response to Sema3E and Plexin-D1•Neurovascular congruency is established by a central organizer in complex tissue Oh and Gu assess the development of neurovascular congruency in the mouse whisker system and find that it is established via a mechanism in which nerves and vessels are patterned independently, revealing that the “one-patterns-the-other” strategy observed in vertebrate skin is not a universal mechanism.