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Mechanism of non-adhesiveness of endothelial and epithelial surfaces

Abstract

THE luminal surface of undamaged blood vessel endothelium is non-adhesive for platelets, although platelets will adhere to many other surfaces, such as collagen or glass1,2. The mechanism of the non-adhesive nature of the endothelial surface remains unknown. Here we present a hypothesis explaining this non-adhesiveness, based on observations of the behaviour of epithelial sheets in culture. This hypothesis contains three independent suggestions. First, the mechanism of the non-adhesiveness of endothelium is similar to that of the upper surface of cultured epithelial sheets. Second, non-adhesiveness of the upper surface of the epithelium results from an absence of pseudopodial activity. It is suggested that only the surface of pseudopodia extended by the epithelial cells is adhesive, whereas other parts of their surface are non-adhesive. Third, the degrees of adhesiveness of the inactive upper surface and of the pseudopodial surfaces are different as a result of different interactions of membrane components with underlying cortical structures. More specifically, the membrane receptors cross-linked by some ligands from the outside may become ‘anchored’ at the inner side of the membrane only in the pseudopodia.

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VASILIEV, J., GELFAND, I. Mechanism of non-adhesiveness of endothelial and epithelial surfaces. Nature 274, 710–711 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/274710a0

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