Restoring blood vessel stability

Abstract

Hypothesis What if a wide array of diseases that afflict blood vessels—from atherosclerosis to transplant vasculopathy and vascular malformations—had a common causal element? In a Perspective, Schwartz et al. propose that fundamental aspects of normal vascular remodeling promote disease if prolonged or exaggerated. They also suggest that unchecked vascular endothelial cell activation and extracellular matrix remodeling are common to multiple pathologies. If this is the case, interventions to restore vascular stability could improve health outcomes in multiple disease states. Science , this issue p. [270][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aat3470