The endothelium plays an important role in maintaining vascular homeostasis, regulating vascular tone and blood flow, and preserving a non-thrombogenic blood-tissue interface, and the normal function of the vascular endothelium is essential for penile erection. In most cases, erectile dysfunction (ED) is accompanied by endothelial dysfunction, and endothelial injury is a major pathological basis of ED, which can be induced by bad lifestyles, cardiovascular diseases, reactive oxygen species, and inflammatory mediators. The vascular endothelium is capable of self-repairing, and endothelial injury results from the unbalanced factors of injury and repair. This review focuses on the mechanism and repair of endothelial injury and the relationship of endothelial injury with ED.
Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Erectile Dysfunction ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Male

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (Masson's hemangioma) is a disease characterized by exuberant endothelial proliferation within the lumen of medium-sized veins. In 1923, Masson regarded this disease as a neoplasm inducing endothelial proliferation, however, now it is considered to be a reactive vascular proliferation following traumatic vascular stasis. The lesion has a propensity to occur in the head, neck, fingers, and trunk. Occurrence within the abdominal cavity is known to be very rare, and especially in the liver, there has been no reported case up to date. The authors have experienced intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia of the liver in a 69-yr-old woman, and report the case with a review of the literature.
Aged ; Angiography ; Endothelium, Vascular/pathology ; Female ; Hemangioendothelioma/*pathology/surgery ; Human ; Liver/*blood supply/*pathology ; Necrosis ; Vascular Neoplasms/*pathology/surgery

Endothelial Cells ; pathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; cytology ; pathology ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; pathology

Adult ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Mandible ; blood supply ; pathology ; Mouth Mucosa ; blood supply ; pathology

Atherosclerosis, a chronic degenerative disease mainly attacks the middle-aged and the aged population as they grow old. Anti-angiocellular aging has gradually become a new strategy for atherosclerosis. In the process of atherosclerosis developing, endothelial cell renewing is speeding. Various biological function disorders that induce blood vessel aging emerge, which leads to changes of the telomere and telomerase, resulting in aged endothelial cells and dysfunction. Telomere and telomerase may play key roles in the etiological factors such as inflammation and AS plaque. In our previous work we have found that Chinese compounds with Shen invigorating effects could not only obviously ameliorate the symptoms and functions of the senility, but also show significant effects on restraining atherosclerosis. We should actively study the mechanisms of Chinese medicine for treating atherosclerosis from Shen, and the mechanisms of Shen invigorating compounds for regulating angiocellular aging through the telomere pathway, thus providing evidence for establishing vascular cell aging based atherosclerosis prevention and treatment strategies by Chinese medicine.
Aging ; Atherosclerosis ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVETo develop a method to obtain and identify human coronary artery endothelial cells obtained during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

METHODSCoronary guide wires were used to obtain endothelial cells from coronary arteries in 28 patients undergoing PCI. The cells were eluted from the wire tips and then purified by magnetic beads coated with anti-CD146 antibody. von Willebrand factor (vWF) was used as an immunocytochemical marker for endothelial cells. The cellular viability was evaluated by observing cell membrane integrity and energy-dependent uptake of DiI-labeled acetylated low-density lipoprotein.

RESULTSAn average of 96 coronary artery endothelial cells with good viability per patient were obtained by one guide wire. vWF identification showed their endothelial morphology and immunoreactivity.

CONCLUSIONThe viable coronary endothelial cells could be obtained during routine percutaneous coronary interventions combined with magnetic beads isolation technique. These cells may be used for further cellular functional analyses (such as immunocytochemistry and molecular biology) and expand our understanding on mechanisms of coronary artery diseases.

Biopsy ; methods ; Coronary Vessels ; cytology ; pathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; cytology ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Apoptosis ; Endoplasmic Reticulum ; pathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; physiology ; Humans ; Stress, Physiological

OBJECTIVE: The endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) is a dynamic and multicomponent layer of macromolecules found at the surface of vascular endothelium, which is largely underappreciated. It has recently been recognized that eGC is a major regulator of endothelial function and may have therapeutic value in organ injuries. This study aimed to explore the role of the eGC in various pathologic and physiologic conditions, by reviewing the basic research findings pertaining to the detection of the eGC and its clinical significance. We also explored different pharmacologic agents used to protect and rebuild the eGC. DATA SOURCES: An in-depth search was performed in the PubMed database, focusing on research published after 2003 with keywords including eGC, permeability, glycocalyx and injuries, and glycocalyx protection. STUDY SELECTION: Several authoritative reviews and original studies were identified and reviewed to summarize the characteristics of the eGC under physiologic and pathologic conditions as well as the detection and protection of the eGC. RESULTS: The eGC degradation is closely associated with pathophysiologic changes such as vascular permeability, edema formation, mechanotransduction, and clotting cascade, together with neutrophil and platelet adhesion in diverse injury and disease states including inflammation (sepsis and trauma), ischemia-reperfusion injury, shock, hypervolemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and high Na as well as diabetes and atherosclerosis. Therapeutic strategies for protecting and rebuilding the eGC should be explored through experimental test and clinical verifications. CONCLUSIONS Disturbance of the eGC usually occurs at early stages of various clinical pathophysiologies which can be partly prevented and reversed by protecting and restoring the eGC. The eGC seems to be a promising diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target in clinical settings.
Animals ; Databases, Factual ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Glycocalyx ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Shear Strength

BACKGROUNDThe experimental studies of venous thromboembolism (VTE) as an entity and the response of the pulmonary arterial endothelium after VTE are still rare. The objective of this study was to observe changes in the pulmonary arterial endothelium using a novel rat model of VTE.

METHODSRats were allocated to the VTE (n = 54) or control groups (n = 9). The left femoral vein was blocked using a microvessel clip to form deep vein thrombosis (DVT). One, four or seven-day-old thrombi were injected into the right femoral vein to induce DVT-pulmonary thromboembolism (DVT-PTE). The rats were sacrificed 1, 4 or 7 days later (D(n(1,4,7)) P(n(1,4,7)) subgroups (n = 6)), and the lungs were examined using light and electron microscopy.

RESULTSOn gross dissection, the rate of DVT formation was higher on day 1 (D(1)P(n): 100%, 18/18) than day 4 (D(4)P(n): 83%, 15/18; χ(2) = 5.900, P = 0.015) or day 7 (D(7)P(n): 44%, 8/18; χ(2) = 13.846, P = 0.000). On gross dissection, the positive emboli residue rate in the pulmonary arteries was lower in the D(1)P(n) subgroup (39%, 7/18) than the D(4)P(n) (73%, 11/15; χ(2) = 3.915, P = 0.048) and D(7)P(n) subgroups (100%, 8/8; χ(2) = 8.474, P = 0.004); however, light microscopy indicated the residual emboli rate was similar in all subgroups. Hyperplasia of the pulmonary arterial endothelium was observed 4 and 7 days after the injection of one-day-old or four-day-old thrombi. However, regions without pulmonary arterial endothelial cells and intra-elastic layers were observed one day after injection of seven-day-old thrombi.

CONCLUSIONSThis novel model closely simulates the clinical situations of thrombus formation and is ideal to study pulmonary endothelial cell activation. The outcome of emboli and pulmonary arterial endothelial alterations are related to the age and nature of the thrombi.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; Pulmonary Artery ; pathology ; Pulmonary Embolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Venous Thromboembolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo explore young hypertensive people's vascular endothelial dysfunction and the early atherosclerosis changes.

METHODSRural youth subjects aged 20 to 35 in 6 villages were randomly selected from 20 villages of 3 townships, including Qili, Laojun and Shayan, in Hanzhong, Shanxi, China, from March to April of 2005, to survey their blood pressure and other related factors. 97 subjects with high blood pressure (hypertensive group) were detected while 400 with normal blood pressure (normal group). We measured their brachial artery flow-mediated vascular endothelial-dependent diastolic function (FMD) and the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) by high resolution vascular ultrasound method, and other biochemical indexes.

RESULTSThe body mass index (BMI) ((24.7 ± 4.3) kg/m²), waistline ((84.1 ± 11.7) cm), hipline ((92.5 ± 7.4) cm), TC ((4.6 ± 0.8) mmol/L), LDL-C ((2.8 ± 0.5) mmol/L), TG ((1.7 ± 1.1) mmol/L) and the blood insulin (INS) ((8.6 ± 4.4) mIu/L) were all significantly increased in young hypertensive group than those in normotensive group (respectively were (22.1 ± 3.0) kg/m(2), (76.7 ± 8.9) cm, (88.9 ± 5.6) cm, (4.3 ± 0.7) mmol/L, (2.6 ± 0.4) mmol/L, (1.4 ± 0.8) mmol/L and (6.9 ± 2.1) mIu/L) (P < 0.05). The FMD of the brachial artery in hypertensive group was markedly lower than normal group ((0.103 ± 0.04)% and (0.117 ± 0.05)%, P < 0.05). The IMT of two groups were (0.49 ± 0.07) mm and (0.48 ± 0.07) mm, but there was no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONYoung hypertensive people with a few cardiovascular risk factors earlier appear dysfunction of the flow-mediated vascular endothelial-dependent dilation, which is prior to the increase in carotid IMT.

Adult ; Arteries ; pathology ; Atherosclerosis ; pathology ; Blood Pressure ; Endothelium, Vascular ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult