Vascular permeability--the essentials

The vasculature, composed of vessels of different morphology and function, distributes blood to all tissues and maintains physiological tissue homeostasis. In pathologies, the vasculature is often affected by, and engaged in, the disease process. This may result in excessive formation of new, unstable, and hyperpermeable vessels with poor blood flow, which further promotes hypoxia and disease propagation. Chronic vessel permeability may also facilitate metastatic spread of cancer. Thus, there is a strong incentive to learn more about an important aspect of vessel biology in health and disease: the regulation of vessel permeability. The current review aims to summarize current insights into different mechanisms of vascular permeability, its regulatory factors, and the consequences for disease.