Unconventional Roles of Endothelial Cells

Endothelial cells (ECs) constitute the thin layer lining all the blood vessels. As such, they represent the first barrier between the blood stream and the tissues. Originating from the mesoderm, their main role is to regulate the exchange between these two compartments, but their contribution to tissue biology is now recognized to go far beyond this classical function.

The first and more conventional role recognized for ECs was that they are able to trigger platelet aggregation and the activation of the coagulation factors, but they also play a role in producing antiaggregant factors and preventing unnecessary clots. More recently, ECs have been discovered to be involved in tissue regeneration, in cancer biology (with both pro- and anti-tumor effects), and in immune regulation. This Research Topic aims to cover these unconventional aspects in ECs biology.

• Classic and alternative origin of ECs (mesodermal progenitors, circulating progenitors, hematopoietic origin)

• Different role of different cells: ECs in arteria, veins, capillaries, sinusoids. Their specific contribution to: tissue repair; interaction with immune cells; tumor biology.

• Pro-regenerative role of endothelial cells after tissue damage and re-vascularization

• Immunologic diseases of blood vessels: the role of ECs and EC-antigens

• ECs and tumor escape: friend or foes?

Keywords: endothelial cells, tissue regeneration, cancer, immune regulation

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