Fig. 4.

The Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition. When exposed to noxious stimuli, the endothelial phenotype can be lost and replaced with an unspecialized mesenchymal phenotype. During this transition, referred to as the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), endothelial cells lose their endothelial markers and express the smooth muscle proteins: smooth muscle actin and vimentin. This transition disturbs normal mitochondrial bioenergetics and causes the endothelial cells to detach from the basement membrane, perturb the endothelium's integrity, and allow the cells to migrate.

Abbreviations: EndoMT: endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, ROS: reactive oxygen species.