Fließer Elisabeth, Jandl Katharina, Chen Shiau-Haln, Wang Mei-Tzu, Schupp Jonas C, Kuebler Wolfgang M, Baker Andrew H, Kwapiszewska Grazyna
Otto Loewi Research Center, Lung Research Cluster, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Institute for Lung Health, Cardiopulmonary Institute, Member of German Lung Center, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
JCI Insight. 2025 May 22;10(10). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.191059.
The cardiopulmonary vasculature and its associated endothelial cells (ECs) play an essential role in sustaining life by ensuring the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. Beyond these foundational functions, ECs serve as key regulators of immune responses. Recent advances in single-cell RNA sequencing have revealed that the cardiopulmonary vasculature is composed of diverse EC subpopulations, some of which exhibit specialized immunomodulatory properties. Evidence for immunomodulation includes distinct expression profiles associated with antigen presentation, cytokine secretion, immune cell recruitment, translocation, and clearance - functions critical for maintaining homeostasis in the heart and lungs. In cardiopulmonary diseases, ECs undergo substantial transcriptional reprogramming, leading to a shift from homeostasis to an activated state marked by heightened immunomodulatory activity. This transformation has highlighted the critical role for ECs in disease pathogenesis and their potential as future therapy targets. This Review emphasizes the diverse functions of ECs in the heart and lungs, particularly adaptive and maladaptive immunoregulatory roles in cardiopulmonary health and disease.
心肺血管系统及其相关的内皮细胞（ECs）通过确保氧气和营养物质的输送在维持生命中发挥着至关重要的作用。除了这些基本功能外，内皮细胞还是免疫反应的关键调节因子。单细胞RNA测序的最新进展表明，心肺血管系统由多种内皮细胞亚群组成，其中一些具有特殊的免疫调节特性。免疫调节的证据包括与抗原呈递、细胞因子分泌、免疫细胞招募、转运和清除相关的独特表达谱，这些功能对于维持心肺内环境稳态至关重要。在心肺疾病中，内皮细胞经历了大量的转录重编程，导致从内环境稳态转变为以免疫调节活性增强为特征的激活状态。这种转变凸显了内皮细胞在疾病发病机制中的关键作用及其作为未来治疗靶点的潜力。本综述强调了内皮细胞在心肺中的多种功能，特别是在心肺健康和疾病中的适应性和 maladaptive 免疫调节作用。 （注：“maladaptive”直译为“适应不良的”，结合语境这里可理解为“不良适应性的”，但中文中可能没有完全对应的简洁词汇，故保留英文供参考理解）
