Development and function of the blood vessel wall

Endothelial cells form the inner cell layer of blood vessels. They determine when and where within the organism leukocytes enter from the blood into tissue. This step initiates the process of inflammation and keeps it alive. Understanding the molecular basis of cell cell recognition and capturing of leukocytes to the endothelium, as well as the mechanism of leukocyte-transmigration through the blood vessel wall (diapedesis) are the major research goals for the Department of Vascular Cell Biology at the MPI for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster.