Endothelial Cell Function and Weibel-Palade Bodies.

所有血管的内壁都是内皮细胞。这些细胞的损伤或行为改变可导致非常重要的疾病，包括糖尿病、动脉粥样硬化、冠状动脉疾病、中风、深静脉血栓形成、再灌注损伤和肺血栓。内皮细胞携带被称为韦贝尔-帕拉德小体(WPB)的包裹，其中充满了为内皮提供急救的分子，当血管系统受损时，将其内容物释放到血液中。过量的释放会导致疾病。我们一直在研究内皮细胞控制WPB及其内容物制造和释放的方式，我们的目标是发现更多关于这个系统是如何工作的。能够改变WPB将使我们能够调节它们的影响，并最终允许我们改变内皮细胞的行为。我们希望这将有助于抗击这些疾病。

Lining all blood vessels are endothelial cells. Damage to these cells or changes in their behaviour can cause very important diseases, including Diabetes, Atherosclerosis, Coronary Artery Disease, Stroke, Deep Vein Thrombosis, Reperfusion Injury, and Pulmonary Embolism. Endothelial cells carry packets called Weibel-Palade bodies (WPB) filled with molecules that provide first aid to the endothelium, releasing their contents into the blood when the vasculature is injured. Excessive release can contribute to disease. We have been investigating the ways in which endothelial cells control how WPB and their content are made and released, and we aim to discover more about how this system works. Being able to change WPB will allow us to modulate their effect, and ultimately allow us to change endothelial behaviour. We hope that this will help to combat these diseases.