Inflammation in Cardiovascular Diseases: Role of the Endothelium and Emerging Therapeutics

Endothelial cells, lining the interior surface of all blood vessels, not only participate in the maintenance of the delivery of blood to all vital organs but are also involved in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Specifically, endothelial cells play an important role in physiological processes such as the control of vasomotor tone, angiogenesis, leukocyte trafficking, and both innate and adaptive immunity. A great bulk of evidence suggests that multiple diseases, such as atherosclerosis, ischemia, hypertension or diabetes have detrimental effect on endothelium, contributing to the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). One of the key common central mechanisms that links all of these diseases is an exaggerated inflammatory response within the endothelium. In all cases, the interaction between inflammatory cells and the endothelium plays a role crucial to the initiation of the pathological condition. Indeed, endothelial dysfunction often encompasses a pro-inflammatory endothelium, contributing to reduced vasodilation, and increased vascular stiffness. Therefore, the main goal of this Research Topic is to provide new mechanistic insights on (patho)physiological events driving inflammation within the endothelium in conditions of multiple diseases, including atherosclerosis, ischemia, hypertension and diabetes.