Sensing of shear stress in vascular endothelial cells – from physiology to pathology
Sensing of mechanical force is crucial in regulating vascular homeostasis, physiology and disease. Endothelial cells line the lumens of blood vessels and are constantly exposed to flowing blood. This generates mechanical shear stress, which is instrumental in modulating endothelial cell behavior. Mechanosensitive proteins, including ion channels, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and other cell surface receptors, adhesion molecules, integrins, primary cilia, cytoskeletal elements and the glycocalyx, transduce mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals that are essential for maintaining vascular integrity, responding to inflammatory stimuli and facilitating angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. Disruption in shear stress sensing can lead to pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis or vascular anomalies. This Review article provides an integrated overview of the current knowledge on endothelial shear stress sensing and highlights key unanswered questions that will shape future research in vascular biology and disease.
Authors
- Stephen J. White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0090-6358)
- Ellie Tzima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3437-0902)
- Hanjoong Jo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1833-372X)
- Suowen Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5488-5217)
- Jovana Serbanovic‐Canic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8835-1491)
- Eno E. Ebong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-1443)
- Mabruka Alfaidi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-0840)
- John S. Reader
- Eulashini Chuntharpursat‐Bon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0767-6877)
- Tzung K. Hsiai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1734-0792)
- Nicolas Baeyens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9893-3041)
- Paul C. Evans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7975-681X)
- C Cheng
- E A V Jones
- Yun Fang
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Northeastern University (US)
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
- Emory University (US)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (US)
- John Radcliffe Hospital (GB)
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
- Maastricht University (NL)
- University of Chicago (US)
- La Jolla Bioengineering Institute (US)
- William Harvey Research Institute (GB)
- Hefei First People's Hospital (CN)
- University of Nebraska Medical Center (US)
- University of Newcastle Australia (AU)
- Newcastle University (GB)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- KU Leuven (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Cell Science
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.264456
- Primary Topic
- Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- American Heart Association
- British Heart Foundation
- National Institutes of Health