Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Atherosclerosis: Friend or Foe?

ABSTRACT: Despite many decades of research, complications of atherosclerosis resulting from the rupture or erosion of unstable plaques remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Advances in cellular lineage tracing techniques have allowed researchers to begin investigating the role of individual cell types in the key processes regulating plaque stability, including maintenance of the fibrous cap, a protective collagen-rich structure that underlies the endothelium. This structure was previously thought to be entirely derived from smooth muscle cells (SMC), which migrated from the vessel wall. However, recent lineage tracing studies have identified endothelial cells (EC) as an essential component of this protective barrier through an endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a process that has

SUBMITTER: Gole S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9563961 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature