ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasizes the systemic nature of the endothelial cell. It explains about the bioelectric influence of the electrokinetic vascular streaming potential (EVSP) on vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). Endothelial cells are a highly adaptive cell capable of forming blood vessels throughout the life of the organism from embryogenesis through adult response to stress and injury. The initial embryonic process of forming blood vessels is called vasculogenesis, with the remodeling and subsequent extension of vessels from existing ones, angiogenesis. Vasculogenesis occurs after mesodermal cells from the lateral plate mesoderm are exposed to high concentrations of bone morphogenic protein (BMP) and FGF2 (basic fibroblast growth factor), which cause differentiation of the mesoderm cells into hemangioblasts. The primary capillary networks that develop via vasculogenesis in the embryo are modified, extended, and pruned by angiogenesis so that the functional requirements for each tissue in terms of energy, material and oxygen delivery, and waste removal are provided.
