Understanding angiodiversity: insights from single cell biology

Blood vessels have long been considered as passive conduits for delivering blood. However, in recent years, cells of the vessel wall (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and pericytes) have emerged as active, highly dynamic components that orchestrate crosstalk between the circulation and organs. Encompassing the whole body and being specialized to the needs of distinct organs, it is not surprising that vessel lining cells come in different flavours. There is calibre-specific specialization (arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, veins), but also organ-specific heterogeneity in different microvascular beds (continuous, discontinuous, sinusoidal). Recent technical advances in the field of single cell biology have enabled the profiling of thousands of single cells and, hence, have allowed for the molecular dissection of such angiodiversity, yielding a hitherto unparalleled level of spatial and functional resolution. Here, we review how these approaches have contributed to our understanding of angiodiversity.