Pumping blood with self-reliance and cooperation

Abstract

In this issue of JEM, Singhal et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20180008) explore the cellular mechanisms involved in endothelial cell regeneration in the liver. Using a combination of myeloablative and nonmyeloablative approaches, the authors found that repair of the endothelium is mediated by endothelial cells themselves, but when injured, endothelial cells enlist myeloid counterparts that aid in vascular repair.

Insights from M. Luisa Iruela-Arispe.

Cellular mechanisms associated with vascular repair. When damage or tissue trauma leaves the proliferative capacity of the remaining endothelium intact (left), repair and expansion of the neovasculature occur through endothelial cell proliferation. If the insult blocks the proliferative capacity of the remaining endothelium (right), circulating bone marrow–derived myeloid cells are recruited to the tunica intima and contribute to vascular repair.