The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, and German Center of Cardiovascular Research, Frankfurt, Germany.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Jan 22;73(2):190-209. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.09.089.
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.
内皮到间质转化（EndMT）是一个内皮细胞经历一系列分子事件的过程，导致表型向间充质细胞（例如成肌纤维细胞、平滑肌细胞）的转变。EndMT 在发育过程中起着至关重要的作用，越来越多的证据表明 EndMT 参与了成人心血管疾病（CVD），包括动脉粥样硬化、肺动脉高压、瓣膜病和纤维弹性组织增生。因此，靶向 EndMT 可能为治疗 CVD 提供治疗潜力。然而，该领域面临着许多挑战，包括缺乏精确的功能和分子定义、对 EndMT 在 CVD 中因果病理作用的理解不足（与作为“旁观者现象”相反），以及缺乏强有力的人类数据来证实 EndMT 在成人 CVD 中的程度和因果关系。在这里，我们回顾了这个新兴但令人兴奋的领域，并提出了一个在分子和转化水平上系统推进它的框架。
