Endothelial cells contribute more than an inside lining of blood vessels. They react to mechanical forces and to a number of substances, either locally produced or circulating in blood, that cause the release of one or more as yet unidentified endothelium-derived relaxing factors. Other agents, including stretch and blood pressure, evoke endothelium-dependent contraction of blood vessels. Such mechanisms make endothelial cells ideal sensors to monitor changes in the flow and composition of the blood.
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PM Vanhoutte (1987) studied this question.