Endothelium, Heal Thyself

This might look like pop art, but what’s captured here is one endothelial cell. Billions of these cells form the endothelium – the thin, vast layer (about the area of a soccer pitch) lining our blood vessels – that controls the flow of molecules in and out of the bloodstream. When a cell is damaged, blood vessels get leaky, triggering harmful inflammation and swelling. This occurs during cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, septic shock, and many infectious diseases, such as Ebola. The cell pictured has been wounded with a needle and its response observed through a microscope. Within minutes the ruffles protruding on the left will close the wound, sweeping through like a wave leaving no sight of the injury, demonstrating the amazing self-restorative capacity of our cells. When this ability is lacking, disease will happen. Understanding how endothelial cells function, can help to develop therapies to stop blood vessels leaking.

Written by Roberta Martinelli

Roberta Martinelli

Writer

A vascular biologist based in Boston, Roberta specialises in high-resolution live-cell imaging in the context of cancer and inflammation. She is constantly mesmerised by the artistic beauty of our cells.

• Image by Roberta Martinelli
• Harvard Medical School, USA
• Copyright held by original authors
• Research published in the Journal of Cell Science, July 2014