Summary
The vascular endothelium forms a barrier between the circulation and the interstitium,
and changes in vascular permeability are very important during vascular repair and
inflammatory conditions. The regulation of the endothelial barrier depends on actomyosin-
related cell contractility as well as the integrity of cellcell junctions, such as
tight and adherens junctions.The present review will introduce the basic pathways
involved in the regulation of the endothelial barrier as well as important participating
signaling players, such as the small GTPases RhoA, Rac and Rap1. In this context,
we will attempt to analyze and interpret the recent evidence pointing to the role
of the family of junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) in modulating the pathways involved
in the regulation of the endothelial barrier.
Keywords
Adhesion molecules - cadherins - endothelial cells - inflammation - GTPases