Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) represents a growth factor with important pro-
angiogenic activity, having a mitogenic and an anti-apoptotic effect on endothelial cells …

Intercellular junctions mediate adhesion and communication between adjoining endothelial
and epithelial cells. In the endothelium, junctional complexes comprise tight junctions …

In addition to their adhesive functions, cell-adhesion molecules modulate signal-
transduction pathways by interacting with molecules such as receptor tyrosine kinases …

Junctional structures maintain the integrity of the endothelium. Recent studies have shown
that, as well as promoting cell–cell adhesion, junctions might transfer intracellular signals …

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) originate within the aortic-gonado-mesonephros (AGM)
region of the midgestation embryo, but the cell type responsible for their emergence is …

The endothelial cell (EC) lining of the pulmonary vasculature forms a semipermeable barrier
between the blood and the interstitium of the lung. Disruption of this barrier occurs during …

As blood flows, the vascular wall is constantly subjected to physical forces, which regulate
important physiological blood vessel responses, as well as being implicated in the …

Over recent years cadherins have emerged as a growing superfamily of molecules, and a
complex picture of their structure and their biological functions is becoming apparent …

The vasculature, composed of vessels of different morphology and function, distributes
blood to all tissues and maintains physiological tissue homeostasis. In pathologies, the …

Endothelial cells (ECs) lining blood vessel walls respond to shear stress, a fluid mechanical
force generated by flowing blood, and the EC responses play an important role in the …