Figure 1.

Main components of the human endothelial glycocalyx. The eGC consists of proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans, associated with plasma proteins. Among others, CD44 is a cell-surface receptor for HA, it plays an important role in cell proliferation, and migration, and participates in vascular barrier integrity via the regulation of CD31 expression. β Integrin participates in leukocyte homing and subsequent diapedesis, and platelet interactions via a link to collagen, fibronectin, and laminin in the subendothelial matrix. P-selectin and E-selectin are implicated in the ‘tethering’ and rolling’ of leukocytes in stimulated‘ endothelial cells. Particularly, E-selectin needs direct stimulation by cytokines such as IL-1, TNF-α, or LPS for production and surface expressio. Syndecans and glypicans are proteoglycans that contain GAG chains such as HS and CS. Moreover, syndecans represent the principal effector in cell adhesion or shape changes by their interaction with the cytoskeleton, while the glypicans have a role in flow-induced endothelial NO synthase activation. The intercellular adhesion glycoprotein (ICAM-1) is expressed in the endothelial cell surface participating in cell-to-cell interactions and facilitates leukocyte endothelial transmigration. VCAM-1 is a glycoprotein which contributes to the cell adhesion of molecules to the endothelium. Figure created with BioRender.com.