The vascular endothelium acts as a multifunctional endocrine organ crucial for vascular homeostasis, with endothelial dysfunction contributing to cardiovascular disease through altered homeostatic properties.
The vascular endothelium constitutes approximately 1% of body mass (1kg) and has a surface area of approximately 5000m(2). The endothelium is a multifunctional endocrine organ strategically placed between the vessel wall and the circulating blood, and has a key role in vascular homeostasis. The endothelium is both a target for and mediator of cardiovascular disease. The endothelium releases several relaxing and constricting factors, which can affect vascular homeostasis. Endothelial dysfunction, whether caused by physical injury or cellular damage, leads to compensatory responses that alter the normal homeostatic properties of the endothelium. In this review, we summarized some physiological aspects of endothelial function and then we discussed endothelial dysfunction during some pathological conditions.
Khazaei et al. (Wed,) conducted a review in Endothelial dysfunction. The vascular endothelium acts as a multifunctional endocrine organ crucial for vascular homeostasis, with endothelial dysfunction contributing to cardiovascular disease through altered homeostatic properties.