Gene expression profiling of vascular endothelial cells exposed to fluid mechanical forces: Relevance for focal susceptibility to atherosclerosis

Gene expression profiling has revealed that cultured vascular endothelial cells (EC) respond to fluid mechanical forces by modulating the mRNA level of a large number of genes. However, differences between the gene arrays and the experimental conditions employed by different researchers make comparison between data sets difficult, and limit the interpretation of the results. Despite these problems, analysis of recent data indicates that the transcriptional response of cultured EC to low-shear disturbed flow conditions similar to those at atherosclerosis-prone areas is distinct from that elicited by atheroprotective high shear laminar flow, providing a molecular basis for the focal nature of atherosclerosis. Many of the genes altered by disturbed flow are involved in key biological processes relevant to atherosclerosis such as inflammation, cell cycle control, apoptosis, thrombosis and oxidative stress. Overall, the gene expression profiling data are consistent with the hypothesis of the hemodynamic etiology of atherosclerotic predilection, viz that at predilected areas in vivo the presence of low shear, nonlaminar flow is sufficient to induce a gene expression profile that pre-disposes the endothelium to the initiation and development of atherosclerotic lesions.