Disrupted Endothelial Cell Heterogeneity and Network Organization Impair Vascular Function in Prediabetic Obesity

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, and stroke. Impaired endothelial function occurs in the earliest stages of obesity and underlies vascular alterations that give rise to cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms that link weight gain to endothelial dysfunction are ill-defined. Increasing evidence suggests that endothelial cells are not a population of uniform cells but are highly heterogeneous and are organized as a communicating multicellular network that controls vascular function.

Source: Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental - August 9, 2020 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Calum Wilson, Xun Zhang, Matthew D. Lee, Margaret MacDonald, Helen R. Heathcote, Nasser M.N. Alorfi, Charlotte Buckley, Sharron Dolan, John G. McCarron Source Type: research