Emerging themes on pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell: Microtubules and microtubule associated proteins

Endothelium forms the inner lining of all blood and lymphatic vessels. Due to this strategic localization, endothelium is a major regulator of numerous physiological functions including blood coagulation, vascular tone, vascular permeability, angiogenesis, lipid metabolism, inflammation, and leukocyte trafficking. In the lung, microvascular endothelium forms a highly restrictive barrier to allow proper gas exchange (Chetham et al. 1999, Jacobson and Garcia 2010, Kelly et al. 1998, Ofori-Acquah et al. 2008, Stevens et al. 2008). Inflammatory mediators and vascular permeability-increasing compounds cause retraction of cell borders and inter-endothelial gaps by reorganizing the endothelial cytoskeleton, cell-cell, and cell matrix interactions, an effect that causes alveolar edema and impairs gas exchange.