Impact of Endothelial Diversity and Dysfunction on Cardiovascular Disease

Endothelial cells (ECs) are functionally heterogeneous, even in vascular beds within the same organ. As the key cell type lining the vascular lumen, ECs regulate vascular tone (control of blood vessel diameter), permeability of molecules, water, and ions across the vascular wall, vessel composition through cell-cell contacts, regulation of tissue redox status, and cytokine signaling. ECs are also influenced by mechanical stimuli such as blood flow. Many of these features can be analyzed in multi-cellular in vitro models that provide a controlled setting to investigate EC biology. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) has emerged as a central pathophysiological mechanism connecting different underlying cardiovascular diseases. Given that ECs are functionally heterogeneous, developing novel therapeutical approaches that target EC subtypes in specific tissues is anticipated to provide new diagnostic markers and therapeutic approaches for organ-specific treatment of cardiovascular disease.