Mechanobiology of the Endothelium PDF

Preface

The endothelium is responsible for regulating the exchange of material from the blood to tissues and organs. It is exposed to shear stress from the blood stream as well as pressure from tissues and smooth muscle cells. It is also exposed to different mechano-chemical environments, such as blood and extracellular matrix. It is quite an incredible task for this cell monolayer to maintain homeostasis. Therefore, endothelial cells are remarkable mechanotranducers. They need to convert chemical signals into mechanical outputs on a daily basis, as well as the reverse: translate the mechanical forces they feel into biological and chemical signals to adapt or respond accordingly. The most evident example of such a response is the remodeling of the endothelial cell cytoskeleton in response to shear stresses from the blood fl ow. Because of these types of responses, the endothelium has been the subject of intense research from biological, biochemistry, biophysical, and mathematical perspectives. However, the combination of these fi elds, with the emergence of mechanobiology as a scientifi c discipline, has opened the possibility of studying the endothelium with a broader perspective.

Mechanobiology is a relatively new scientifi c discipline. It merges mechanics and biology to study systems where forces elicit a biological response or a biological function is subjected to specifi c forces. When the response or the forces in the biological system change, a pathological condition can ensue, as in atherosclerosis. Therefore, studying the mechanobiology of these biological systems offers the opportunity to obtain a fundamental understanding and the possibility to translate this understanding into disease diagnosis and/or treatments

The endothelium is an excellent example of where the study of mechanobiology is already being put to use. For instance, aspects of mechanobiology have been used in the design of heart valves and studying the endothelium of the valves. Mechanobiology has also been applied to the study of angiogenesis and the forces that affect the mechanobiology of the endothelium. Many facets of mechanobiology of the endothelium are reviewed in this book, including the examples cited above. Other highlights of the book include: studies toward understanding the scientifi c basis of the endothelial cells as mechanosensors, using the endothelium as a means to deliver drugs to specifi c tissues, studies on the role of endothelium biomechanics in cancer metastasis and atherosclerosis, and research on understanding cell transmigration. Because of space constraints, some specifi c areas have been left out, but I hope that this book still manages to cover important topics for readers that are starting to delve into the study of endothelium mechanobiology and for experienced researchers that need an overview of the topics covered here.

The team of authors consists of experts in their respective fi elds and the work devoted to each chapter is greatly appreciated. The editor has learned a lot on each subject and it is expected that the reader will learn as much. Each chapter is independent of one another and therefore they can be read individually and not necessarily in sequence. Please enjoy!