Barrier Function at HMR

Mechanotransduction at the basis of endothelial barrier function

Destabilization of cell-cell contacts involved in the maintenance of endothelial barrier function can lead to increased endothelial permeability. This increase in endothelial permeability results in an anarchical movement of fluid, solutes and cells outside the vasculature and into the surrounding tissues, thereby contributing to various diseases such as stroke or pulmonary edema. Thus, a bette...

Double function of MFSD2A transporter at the blood-brain barrier.

Augmenting Epithelial Barrier Function

The simplest multicellular animal organisms, coelenterates, are essentially floating intestines in the sea. More fundamentally, they are ‘barrier tubes’ that attempt to compartmentalize the environment they exist in. It is said that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. It is thus interesting that the blastocyst, among the earliest multicellular embryonic structures, is essentially a sac comprised ...

Endothelial barrier function in preeclampsia.

Impaired endothelial barrier function resulting in increased vascular permeability is a characteristic vascular response in preeclampsia, a hypertensive and multiple systemic disorder of human pregnancy. During the last two decades, endothelial function in preeclampsia has been intensively studied and significant progress has been made in understanding the cellular and molecular bases of the al...

Adrenomedullin and endothelial barrier function.

Although loss of endothelial barrier function is a hallmark of every acute inflammation and contributes to fatal loss of organ function during severe infections, there is no sufficient therapy for stabilization of endothelial barrier function. Endogenous peptide adrenomedullin (AM) serum levels were shown to be increased during severe infection including sepsis and septic shock. In different in...