Villalba Nuria, Baby Sheon, Yuan Sarah Y
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
Department of Surgery, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jul 14;9:711003. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.711003. eCollection 2021.
Expressed on the endothelial cell (EC) surface of blood vessels, the glycocalyx (GCX), a mixture of carbohydrates attached to proteins, regulates the access of cells and molecules in the blood to the endothelium. Besides protecting endothelial barrier integrity, the dynamic microstructure of the GCX confers remarkable functions including mechanotransduction and control of vascular tone. Recently, a novel perspective has emerged supporting the pleiotropic roles of the endothelial GCX (eGCX) in cardiovascular health and disease. Because eGCX degradation occurs in certain pathological states, the circulating levels of eGCX degradation products have been recognized to have diagnostic or prognostic values. Beyond their biomarker roles, certain eGCX fragments serve as pathogenic factors in disease progression. Pharmacological interventions that attenuate eGCX degradation or restore its integrity have been sought. This review provides our current understanding of eGCX structure and function across the microvasculature in different organs. We also discuss disease or injury states, such as infection, sepsis and trauma, where eGCX dysfunction contributes to severe inflammatory vasculopathy.
糖萼（GCX）是附着于蛋白质的碳水化合物混合物，表达于血管的内皮细胞（EC）表面，可调节血液中的细胞和分子与内皮的接触。除了保护内皮屏障的完整性外，GCX的动态微观结构还具有显著功能，包括机械转导和血管张力控制。最近，一种新的观点出现了，支持内皮糖萼（eGCX）在心血管健康和疾病中的多效性作用。由于eGCX降解发生在某些病理状态下，eGCX降解产物的循环水平已被认为具有诊断或预后价值。除了作为生物标志物的作用外，某些eGCX片段在疾病进展中作为致病因素。人们一直在寻找减轻eGCX降解或恢复其完整性的药物干预措施。本综述阐述了我们目前对不同器官微血管中eGCX结构和功能的理解。我们还讨论了疾病或损伤状态，如感染、脓毒症和创伤，其中eGCX功能障碍会导致严重的炎症性血管病变。
