Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Vascular Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1432719

Low or oscillatory shear stress and endothelial permeability in atherosclerosis

Provisionally accepted
Li Chen Li Chen 1Hua Qu Hua Qu 1Bin Liu Bin Liu 2Chen Bingchang Chen Bingchang 3Zhen Yang Zhen Yang 1Dazhuo Shi Dazhuo Shi 1Ying Zhang Ying Zhang 1*
  • 1 Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 2 Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
  • 3 Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Endothelial shear stress is a tangential stress derived from the friction of the flowing blood on the endothelial surface of the arterial wall and is expressed in units of force/unit area (dyne/cm 2 ). Branches and bends of arteries are exposed to complex blood flow patterns that generate low or oscillatory endothelial shear stress, which impairs glycocalyx integrity, cytoskeleton arrangement and endothelial junctions (adherens junctions, tight junctions, gap junctions), thus increasing endothelial permeability. The lipoproteins and inflammatory cells penetrating intima due to the increased endothelial permeability characterizes the pathological changes in early stage of atherosclerosis. Endothelial cells are critical sensors of shear stress, however, the mechanisms by which the complex shear stress regulate endothelial permeability in atherosclerosis remain unclear. In this review, we focus on the molecular mechanisms of the endothelial permeability induced by low or oscillatory shear stress, which will shed a novel sight in early stage of atherosclerosis.

    Keywords: shear stress, Endothelial permeability, Glycocalyx, Cytoskeleton arrangement, Endothelial junctions, Atherosclerosis

    Received: 14 May 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Qu, Liu, Bingchang, Yang, Shi and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ying Zhang, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.