A REVIEW ON SERUM MARKERS AND GENETICS OF ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION
Dr. R. Dhananjayan*
ABSTRACT
Endothelium is the biological active inner layer of the blood vessels, which controls vascular and thus organ functions. The arterial vessel is outlined by three distinct layers; tunica intima - a single layer of endothelial cells, tunica media - which comprises the vascular smooth muscle cell and tunica adventitia, an elastic lamina with terminal nerve fibres and surrounding connective tissue. The endothelial dysfunction is an imbalance in the production of vasodilator and vasoconstriction factors. When this balance is disrupted, it predisposes the vasculature towards pro-thrombotic and pro-atherogenic effects. There are many clinical markers proposed to link inflammation and atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction or damage can be approximated through measurement of serum biomarkers. Single nucleotide polymorphisms are small genetic changes or variations of a single base found in the sequence of DNA and are defined as polymorphisms when they are present at 1% or more within a population and their products are implicated in endothelial dysfunction and associated with endothelium dependent vasoreactivity. This review is focussed on serum markers and genetic aspects of endothelial dysfunction.
Keywords: Serum markers, endothelium, endothelial dysfunction.
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