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International Journal of Biological... 2013Alterations of endothelial cells and the vasculature play a central role in the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of the most dreadful of human diseases, as endothelial... (Review)
Review
Alterations of endothelial cells and the vasculature play a central role in the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of the most dreadful of human diseases, as endothelial cells have the key function of participating in the maintenance of patent and functional capillaries. The endothelium is directly involved in peripheral vascular disease, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, chronic kidney failure, tumor growth, metastasis, venous thrombosis, and severe viral infectious diseases. Dysfunction of the vascular endothelium is thus a hallmark of human diseases. In this review the main endothelial abnormalities found in various human diseases such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, and viral infections are addressed.
Topics: Disease; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans
PubMed: 24250251
DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.7502 -
Cell and Tissue Research Mar 2022Endothelial cells form a monolayer, which lines blood vessels. They are crucially involved in maintaining blood fluidity and providing controlled vascular hemostasis at... (Review)
Review
Endothelial cells form a monolayer, which lines blood vessels. They are crucially involved in maintaining blood fluidity and providing controlled vascular hemostasis at sites of injury. Thereby endothelial cells facilitate multiple mechanisms, including both procoagulant and anticoagulant, which must be kept in balance. Under physiological conditions, endothelial cells constitute a nonadhesive surface preventing activation of platelets and the coagulation cascade. Multiple fibrinolytic and antithrombotic properties act on their cell surface contributing to the maintenance of blood fluidity. These include platelet inhibition, the heparin-antithrombin III system, tissue factor pathway inhibition, thrombomodulin/protein C system, and fibrinolytic qualities. At sites of vascular damage, platelets react immediately by adhering to the exposed extracellular matrix, followed by platelet-platelet interactions to form a clot that effectively seals the injured vessel wall to prevent excessive blood loss. For solid thrombus formation, functional platelets are essential. In this process, endothelial cells serve as a support surface for formation of procoagulant complexes and clotting. This review gives an overview about the central role of the endothelium as a dynamic lining which controls the complex interplay of the coagulation system with the surrounding cells.
Topics: Blood Platelets; Endothelial Cells; Endothelium; Hemostasis; Humans; Thrombosis
PubMed: 34014399
DOI: 10.1007/s00441-021-03471-2 -
Shock (Augusta, Ga.) Mar 2016Sepsis affects practically all aspects of endothelial cell (EC) function and is thought to be the key factor in the progression from sepsis to organ failure. Endothelial... (Review)
Review
Sepsis affects practically all aspects of endothelial cell (EC) function and is thought to be the key factor in the progression from sepsis to organ failure. Endothelial functions affected by sepsis include vasoregulation, barrier function, inflammation, and hemostasis. These are among other mechanisms often mediated by glycocalyx shedding, such as abnormal nitric oxide metabolism, up-regulation of reactive oxygen species generation due to down-regulation of endothelial-associated antioxidant defenses, transcellular communication, proteases, exposure of adhesion molecules, and activation of tissue factor. This review covers current insight in EC-associated hemostatic responses to sepsis and the EC response to inflammation. The endothelial cell lining is highly heterogeneous between different organ systems and consequently also in its response to sepsis. In this context, we discuss the response of the endothelial cell lining to sepsis in the kidney, liver, and lung. Finally, we discuss evidence as to whether the EC response to sepsis is adaptive or maladaptive. This study is a result of an Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative XIV Sepsis Workgroup meeting held in Bogota, Columbia, between October 12 and 15, 2014.
Topics: Animals; Down-Regulation; Endothelial Cells; Endothelium; Glycocalyx; Hemostasis; Humans; Nitric Oxide; Organ Specificity; Sepsis; Thromboplastin; Up-Regulation
PubMed: 26871664
DOI: 10.1097/SHK.0000000000000473 -
Nutrients Apr 2015In recent years there has been a growing interest in the biological activity of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris rubra) and its potential utility as a health promoting and... (Review)
Review
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the biological activity of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris rubra) and its potential utility as a health promoting and disease preventing functional food. As a source of nitrate, beetroot ingestion provides a natural means of increasing in vivo nitric oxide (NO) availability and has emerged as a potential strategy to prevent and manage pathologies associated with diminished NO bioavailability, notably hypertension and endothelial function. Beetroot is also being considered as a promising therapeutic treatment in a range of clinical pathologies associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Its constituents, most notably the betalain pigments, display potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and chemo-preventive activity in vitro and in vivo. The purpose of this review is to discuss beetroot's biological activity and to evaluate evidence from studies that specifically investigated the effect of beetroot supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, cognition and endothelial function.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Beta vulgaris; Cardiovascular Agents; Cognition; Disease Models, Animal; Endothelium; Functional Food; Humans; Oxidative Stress; Plant Extracts; Plant Roots; Vegetables
PubMed: 25875121
DOI: 10.3390/nu7042801 -
JACC. Cardiovascular Imaging May 2022
Topics: Endothelium; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Predictive Value of Tests; Regeneration
PubMed: 35512955
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2022.02.014 -
ELife Feb 2020Pulmonary endothelial cells (ECs) are an essential component of the gas exchange machinery of the lung alveolus. Despite this, the extent and function of lung EC...
Pulmonary endothelial cells (ECs) are an essential component of the gas exchange machinery of the lung alveolus. Despite this, the extent and function of lung EC heterogeneity remains incompletely understood. Using single-cell analytics, we identify multiple EC populations in the mouse lung, including macrovascular endothelium (maEC), microvascular endothelium (miECs), and a new population we have termed -high ECs. -high ECs express a unique gene signature, and ligand-receptor analysis indicates they are primed to receive reparative signals from alveolar type I cells. After acute lung injury, they are preferentially localized in regenerating regions of the alveolus. Influenza infection reveals the emergence of a population of highly proliferative ECs that likely arise from multiple miEC populations and contribute to alveolar revascularization after injury. These studies map EC heterogeneity in the adult lung and characterize the response of novel EC subpopulations required for tissue regeneration after acute lung injury.
Topics: Acute Lung Injury; Animals; Endothelium; Endothelium, Vascular; Female; Flow Cytometry; Lung; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Orthomyxoviridae Infections; Pulmonary Alveoli; Single-Cell Analysis
PubMed: 32091393
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.53072 -
Trends in Cell Biology Jan 2024Pericytes are known as the mural cells in small-caliber vessels that interact closely with the endothelium. Pericytes play a key role in vasculature formation and... (Review)
Review
Pericytes are known as the mural cells in small-caliber vessels that interact closely with the endothelium. Pericytes play a key role in vasculature formation and homeostasis, and when dysfunctional contribute to vasculature-related diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and neurodegenerative conditions. In addition, significant extravascular roles of pathological pericytes are being discovered with relevant implications for cancer and fibrosis. Pericyte research is challenged by the lack of consistent molecular markers and clear discrimination criteria versus other (mural) cells. However, advances in single-cell approaches are uncovering and clarifying mural cell identities, biological functions, and ontogeny across organs. We discuss the latest developments in pericyte pathobiology to inform future research directions and potential outcomes.
Topics: Humans; Pericytes; Biomarkers; Endothelium, Vascular; Homeostasis
PubMed: 37474376
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.06.001 -
Advanced Science (Weinheim,... Jun 2023Cancer cell extravasation, a key step in the metastatic cascade, involves cancer cell arrest on the endothelium, transendothelial migration (TEM), followed by the...
Cancer cell extravasation, a key step in the metastatic cascade, involves cancer cell arrest on the endothelium, transendothelial migration (TEM), followed by the invasion into the subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) of distant tissues. While cancer research has mostly focused on the biomechanical interactions between tumor cells (TCs) and ECM, particularly at the primary tumor site, very little is known about the mechanical properties of endothelial cells and the subendothelial ECM and how they contribute to the extravasation process. Here, an integrated experimental and theoretical framework is developed to investigate the mechanical crosstalk between TCs, endothelium and subendothelial ECM during in vitro cancer cell extravasation. It is found that cancer cell actin-rich protrusions generate complex push-pull forces to initiate and drive TEM, while transmigration success also relies on the forces generated by the endothelium. Consequently, mechanical properties of the subendothelial ECM and endothelial actomyosin contractility that mediate the endothelial forces also impact the endothelium's resistance to cancer cell transmigration. These results indicate that mechanical features of distant tissues, including force interactions between the endothelium and the subendothelial ECM, are key determinants of metastatic organotropism.
Topics: Transendothelial and Transepithelial Migration; Endothelial Cells; Endothelium; Actins; Mechanical Phenomena; Neoplasms
PubMed: 37051804
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202206554 -
Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis :... Jun 2013The microvasculature is an immense organ that defines the environmental conditions within tissues in both health and disease, and is vital for the proper functions of... (Review)
Review
The microvasculature is an immense organ that defines the environmental conditions within tissues in both health and disease, and is vital for the proper functions of all tissues. Here, we describe existing tools to study vascular cell function and our work using one platform of in vitro microvessels, which we employed to study vessel structure and remodeling, endothelial barrier function, angiogenesis, interactions between endothelial cells and perivascular cells, interactions between blood cells and the endothelium, and microvascular thrombosis. We also briefly discuss the potential future applications of these platforms in biology and medicine.
Topics: Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Microvessels
PubMed: 23809111
DOI: 10.1111/jth.12245 -
Small GTPases Jan 2017Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens. It serves as a protective response that involves... (Review)
Review
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens. It serves as a protective response that involves leukocytes, blood vessels and molecular mediators with the purpose to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury and to initiate tissue repair. Inflammation is tightly regulated by the body and is associated with transient crossing of leukocytes through the blood vessel wall, a process called transendothelial migration (TEM) or diapedesis. TEM is a close collaboration between leukocytes on one hand and the endothelium on the other. Limiting vascular leakage during TEM but also when the leukocyte has crossed the endothelium is essential for maintaining vascular homeostasis. Although many details have been uncovered during the recent years, the molecular mechanisms from the vascular part that drive TEM still shows significant gaps in our understanding. This review will focus on the local signals that are induced in the endothelium that regulate leukocyte TEM and simultaneous preservation of endothelial barrier function.
Topics: Endothelium; Humans; Leukocytes; Signal Transduction; Transendothelial and Transepithelial Migration
PubMed: 27715453
DOI: 10.1080/21541248.2016.1197872