Endothelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Cardiovascular Disease

作者：Jason C. Kovacic, Stefanie Dimmeler, Richard P. Harvey, Toren Finkel, Elena Aïkawa, Guido Krenning, Andrew H. Baker · 发表于：Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1016/j.jacc.2018.09.089 · 被引用次数：642 · 研究领域：Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Treatments、Congenital heart defects research、Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Studies

Endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a process whereby an endothelial cell undergoes a series of molecular events that lead to a change in phenotype toward a mesenchymal cell (e.g., myofibroblast, smooth muscle cell). EndMT plays a fundamental role during development, and mounting evidence indicates that EndMT is involved in adult cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including atherosclerosis, pulmonary hypertension, valvular disease, and fibroelastosis. Therefore, the targeting of EndMT may hold therapeutic promise for treating CVD. However, the field faces a number of challenges, including the lack of a precise functional and molecular definition, a lack of understanding of the causative pathological role of EndMT in CVDs (versus being a "bystander-phenomenon"), and a lack of robust human data corroborating the extent and causality of EndMT in adult CVDs. Here, we review this emerging but exciting field, and propose a framework for its systematic advancement at the molecular and translational levels.