ABSTRACT
The involvement of vascular endothelium in disease processes such as atherosclerosis has been recognized for over a century, but a working knowledge of its relevant pathophysiology has been developed only recently, largely as a result of the application of modern cellular and molecular biological techniques. We now appreciate that this single-cell-thick lining of the circulatory system is, in fact, a vital organ whose health is essential to normal vascular physiology and that its functional phenotype can be dynamically regulated by various physiologic and pathophysiologic stimuli, including biochemical mediators such as inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, circulating hormones and bacterial products.
