Adhesion Molecule Expression on Cytokine-Stimulated Human Endothelial Cells

Leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cells is central in regulating inflammatory responses. Endothelial cells line the vasculature and cover over 1000 m² in the average adult (1 ). These cells were long thought to be inert, acting only to contain the blood. This view began to change when Waller in 1846, and then Cohnheim in 1867, made observations suggesting that molecular changes in the endothelium could regulate leukocyte adhesion (2 ).