Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
06:12
Modeling the Endothelial Glycocalyx Post-Pneumonectomy in a 3D Fluidic Chip - An Approach to Fabricating a Vascular-based Organ-on-Chip System
Published on: September 16, 2025
Endothelial Surface Glycocalyx in Vascular Functions and Diseases
Ye Zeng1, Bingmei M Fu2, John M Tarbell2
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. ye@scu.edu.cn.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|July 8, 2026
Summary
The endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG) is a crucial mechanosensor that converts blood flow forces into signals vital for vascular health. Its degradation drives major diseases, but new diagnostics and therapies show promise.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Biology
- Biophysics
- Cellular Mechanotransduction
Background:
- Endothelial cells (ECs) lining blood vessels sense mechanical forces from blood flow, crucial for vascular homeostasis.
- The endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG), once seen as a barrier, is now recognized as a key mechanosensor at the blood-endothelium interface.
- The ESG translates hemodynamic forces into biochemical signals essential for maintaining vascular health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of the endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG).
- To detail the ESG's role in mechanotransduction, barrier regulation, and its dynamic remodeling in disease.
- To highlight emerging diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for ESG integrity.
Main Methods:
- Advanced imaging techniques including immunolabeling, electron microscopy, and super-resolution microscopy were used to elucidate ESG composition and structure.
- Biomechanical properties and mechanotransduction roles were examined.
- Dynamic remodeling and degradation in response to stimuli were investigated.
Main Results:
- The ESG's molecular composition, ultrastructural organization, and variable thickness were detailed.
- The ESG plays a central role in endothelial mechanotransduction and barrier regulation.
- ESG shedding is a hallmark and causal factor in vascular diseases like atherosclerosis, sepsis, diabetes, cancer metastasis, and COVID-19-associated endotheliopathy.
Conclusions:
- The endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG) is a critical mechanosensor and regulator of vascular health.
- ESG degradation is a significant contributor to vascular pathophysiology across multiple diseases.
- Emerging tools and therapies offer potential for evaluating and restoring ESG function.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Glycocalyx and its Functions
The glycocalyx is a carbohydrate-rich, fuzzy-appearing layer on the outer surface of the cell membrane. It is highly hydrophilic, because of this it attracts large amounts of water to the cell's surface. This aids the cell's interaction with the watery environment and also helps it to obtain substances dissolved in the water. It is also important for cell identification, self/non-self determination, and embryonic development and is used in cell-to-cell attachments to form tissues.
Components of...
Components of...
01:20Overview of the Vascular System
The vascular system comprises an extensive network of arteries, capillaries, and veins. The vascular system can be broadly divided into the blood and lymphatic systems. Typically, blood vessels can be categorized into three histological regions: tunica intima, tunica media, and tunica adventitia. The tunica intima consists of a single layer of endothelial cells attached to the basal lamina. Underlying the basal lamina is a connective tissue layer and an elastic lamina that gives stability and...
01:25Selectins
Cell adhesion is an essential aspect of multicellularity. While stable cell interactions usually occur between cells of the same type, transient cell interactions occur between cells of different tissue types, such as between neutrophils and endothelial cells. Selectins are one class of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that bind carbohydrate ligands to form transient cell adhesion. They are rod-like proteins with a long extracellular part of variable length ending with the lectin domain, which...
01:24Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply
Rapidly dividing tumors, embryos, and wounded tissues require more oxygen than usual, lowering the oxygen concentration in the blood. At low oxygen or hypoxic conditions, an oxygen-sensitive transcription factor called the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 or HIF1 is activated. HIF1 is a dimeric protein of alpha (ɑ) and beta (β) subunits. Under optimal oxygen conditions, HIF1β is present in the nucleus while HIF1ɑ remains in the cytosol. HIF1ɑ is hydroxylated by prolyl hydroxylase and factor...
01:05Proteoglycans
Glycans, a class of complex heterogeneous molecules, can be covalently attached to proteins to form glycosylated proteins that regulate various physiological and pathological processes. Glycosylated proteins or glycoproteins comprise N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides. O-glycosylation is the most common type of protein glycosylation. Here, glycans attach to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl groups of Serine or Threonine residues. O-linked glycosylation occurs later in protein processing,...
01:20Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions
Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are pivotal to multicellularity and the coordinated functioning of tissues and organ systems. They enable physical interactions between cells and provide mechanical strength to tissues. They also function as receptors for signal transmission across the plasma membrane. The CAMs are broadly classified into four families - integrins, cadherins, selectins, and immunoglobulin-like CAMs (IgCAMs).
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily involved in a...
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily involved in a...