Vascular Cell Lineage Determination and Differentiation

Abstract

This issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology contains a review series describing the regulation of vascular cell lineage determination and differentiation. In this miniseries, we also focus on the vascular cells involved in the pathology and pathogenesis of vascular injury, including endothelial cells (EC), smooth muscle cells (SMC), monocytes/macrophages, and adventitial cells. One of the central themes of this review series is the molecular mechanisms underlying vascular cell determination and differentiation. This review series highlights the available in vivo and in vitro model systems currently being used for the study of mechanisms pertaining to vascular cell differentiation. Next, this series integrates several concepts related to the mechanistic study of vascular cell determination and differentiation, vascular development, and vascular pathophysiology. EC, which are known to be multifunctional, play a critical role in maintaining normal vascular homeostasis, as well as participating in physiological and pathophysiological processes, including the regulation of vascular tone, inflammatory signaling, vascular wall remodeling, and vasculogenesis. This series, which includes 8 reviews, begins with the review by De Val, which provides a detailed description of the development of the vascular system. This review focuses on the mechanisms regulating gene expression during early-stage EC differentiation and vascular development. Next, Jain and colleagues emphasize the major signaling cascades related to EC differentiation. The first part of this review …