Department of Signal Transduction, Research Institute for Microbial Deseases, Osaka University.
Circ J. 2018 Dec 25;83(1):12-17. doi: 10.1253/circj.CJ-18-1180. Epub 2018 Nov 28.
The roles that blood vessels play in the maintenance of organs and tissues in addition to the delivery of oxygen and nutrients are being gradually clarified. The maintenance of tissue-specific organ stem cells, such as hematopoietic and neuronal stem cells, is supported by endothelial cells (ECs), which represent an important component of the stem cell niche. The maintenance of organogenesis, for example, osteogenesis and liver generation/regeneration, is supported by molecules referred to as "angiocrine signals" secreted by EC. The mechanisms responsible for the well-known functions of blood vessels, such as thermoregulation and metabolism, especially removal of local metabolites, have now been determined at the molecular level. Following the development of single-cell genetic analysis, blood cell heterogeneity, especially of mural cell populations, has been established and tissue-specific blood vessel formation and function are now also understood at the molecular level. Among the heterogeneous populations of ECs, it seems that a stem cell population with the ability to maintain the production of ECs long-term is present in pre-existing blood vessels. Neovascularization by therapeutic angiogenesis yields benefits in many diseases, not only ischemic disease but also metabolic disease and other vascular diseases. Therefore, vascular endothelial stem cells should be considered to use in vascular regeneration therapy.
血管除了输送氧气和营养物质外，在维持器官和组织方面也起着重要作用，其作用正逐渐被阐明。内皮细胞（ECs）支持组织特异性器官干细胞（如造血和神经干细胞）的维持，是干细胞龛的重要组成部分。例如，成骨和肝脏生成/再生等器官发生的维持，是由EC 分泌的被称为“血管分泌信号”的分子所支持的。血管的著名功能（如体温调节和新陈代谢，尤其是局部代谢物的清除）的机制现在已经在分子水平上确定。随着单细胞遗传分析的发展，血细胞异质性，特别是壁细胞群体的异质性已经得到确立，并且组织特异性血管形成和功能现在也在分子水平上得到理解。在异质性的 EC 群体中，似乎存在一个具有长期维持 EC 产生能力的干细胞群体存在于预先存在的血管中。治疗性血管生成的新生血管化在许多疾病中都有益处，不仅是缺血性疾病，还有代谢性疾病和其他血管疾病。因此，应该考虑使用血管内皮干细胞进行血管再生治疗。
