Crisis Averted: How Blood Vessels Prevent Breakdown

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 UC 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.