The endothelial saga: the past, the present, the future (original) (raw)

2010, Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology

Endothelium-dependent changes in vasomotor 10 tone, whether evoked by vasoactive agents or physical 11 forces, are recognized as essential for the local hemody-12 namic control in various normal and pathological circum-13 stances. They are based on a complex signaling network 14 within the vascular wall. In recent years, substantial efforts 15 have been made to analyze how such signals are generated 16 and used in the endothelium-dependent control of vascular 17 smooth muscle. The underlying mechanisms vary with 18 species, age, sex, hormonal status, vascular bed studied, 19 caliber of the blood vessels, triggering stimuli, pre-existing 20 vascular tone, oxidative stress, and pathology. Such aspects 21 and many others will be addressed specifically by the 22 authors contributing to this volume. 23 Keywords Endothelium . Nitric oxide . EDHF . K Ca . TRP . 24 Oxidative stress 25 The endothelial saga: the past 26 The endothelial saga started with Robert Furchgott [18, 61], 27 who demonstrated that endothelial cells play an essential 28 role in the relaxation evoked by acetylcholine in isolated 29 arteries, which is mediated by activation of endothelial 30 muscarinic receptors. His simple pharmacological experi-31 ments have revolutionized not only vascular pharmacology 32 and physiology but science in general, as they lead to the 33 discovery of the role of nitric oxide (NO) in biology [61].