This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gaugler, M-H Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gaugler, M-H

A unifying system: does the vascular endothelium have a role to play in multi-organ failure following radiation exposure?

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, B.P. n°17, F-92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France

Correspondence: Dr M H Gaugler, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, B.P. n°17, F-92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France. E-mail: marie-helene.gaugler@irsn.fr

Over the past two decades, investigators have increasingly recognised the importance of the endothelium as a central regulator of vascular and body homeostasis. The vascular endothelium is versatile and multifunctional. In addition to its role as a selective permeability barrier, it has many synthetic and metabolic properties, including modulation of vascular tone and blood flow, regulation of immune and inflammatory responses, and regulation of coagulation, fibrinolysis and thrombosis. Perturbations of endothelial structure and function result in pathological states. Following radiation exposure, changes of the vasculature and more specifically of the endothelial cells were a prominent histological finding dating back more than a century. Since then, there have been numerous studies detailing the morphological and functional changes seen in all types of vessels following irradiation of critical organ systems. This review addresses the question of how alterations in endothelial cell functions could play a critical role in mediating organ dysfunction following radiation exposure.