#vascular disease

Vascular disease can develop when blood vessel linings break down and leak. There are no effective treatments because little is known about how vessel linings can resist injury. Now University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have uncovered a new pathway involving interplay of PAR1 and S1PR1, two G protein-coupled receptors — signal transducers embedded in cell membranes. These receptors promote beta-arrestin-2 signals, which in turn protect against cell death in blood vessel linings.

The study, published December 7, 2021 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by JoAnn Trejo, PhD, professor of pharmacology and assistant vice chancellor of the Office of Health Sciences Faculty Affairs at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Above: Under a microscope, researchers can see that the two GPCRs (PAR1 in red and S1PR1 in green) reside at the same location on the surface of endothelial cells, which form blood vessel linings.