Endocan: a new molecule playing a role in the development of hypertension and chronic kidney disease?

Recently, endocan-formerly known as endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 (ESM-1)--was found to be associated with entities such as cancer, hypertension, renal transplant rejection, and chronic renal failure. Endothelial cells of many organs secrete endocan, but the exact functions of this relatively new molecule have not been elucidated completely. Emerging evidence suggests, however, that endocan plays an important role in inflammation, upregulation of cell adhesion molecules, lymphocyte functions, and endothelial cytoskeleton rearrangement. As suggested above, endocan has a prognostic impact in hypertension, transplant rejection, and chronic renal failure. In the current review, the evidence regarding endocan, hypertension, and chronic renal failure are summarized.