Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Jan 4.
Published in final edited form as: Circ Res. 2019 Jan 4;124(1):150–160. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.311098

Figure 2. Some possible mechanisms of endothelial cell desquamation associated with superficial erosion and arterial thrombosis.

Figure 2.

The left side of this diagram shows proteolysis affected by enzymes such as the matrix metalloproteinases that can degrade the integrins on the basal surface of endothelial cells represented by the α and β, or the constituents of the basement membrane to which the endothelial cells adhere through integrin/matrix binding. Basement membranes contain about 40% of Type IV collagen, a substrate of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) a Type IV collagenase that undergoes activation by the membrane associated proteinase MMP-14. The right side of this diagram depicts endothelial cell death by apoptosis or other mechanisms that can lead to sloughing of the luminal endothelial cells affording access of the blood and its formed elements including platelets to the subjacent intimal layers. (Illustration Credit: Ben Smith).