[Weibel-Palade bodies: unique secretory organelles within endothelial cells].

Vascular endothelial cells contain typical elongated vesicles, known as Weibel-Palade bodies. These organelles serve as a storage compartment for a variety of proteins that play a part in controlling vascular homeostasis, including von Willebrand factor, endothelin, P-selectin and interleukin-8. Upon activation of endothelial cells, Weibel-Palade bodies are translocated to the periphery of the cell and there fuse with the plasma membrane to release their contents into the blood circulation and subendothelial connective tissue. This process provides an adequate means by which endothelial cells can actively participate in controlling the arrest of bleeding upon vascular damage or modulate inflammatory reactions and other physiological and pathophysiological processes at the blood-tissue interface. Weibel-Palade bodies may also move to the nucleus of the cell, thus escaping secretion. This phenomenon may play a part in controlling stimulus-induced exocytosis.