Endothelial cells are a constitutive part of the heart and vasculature and form a crucial link between the cardiovascular system and the immune system. Besides their commonly accepted roles in angiogenesis, hemostasis, and the regulation of vascular tone, they are an essential and active component of immune responses. Expression of a range of innate pattern recognition receptors allows them to respond to inflammatory stimulation, and they control immune cell recruitment and extravasation into target tissues throughout the body.In this chapter, I will therefore summarize classical endothelial cell properties and functions and their cross talk with the immune system as well as the operational immunological role of endothelial cells in facilitating immune responses.
Keywords: Angiogenesis; Endothelial cells; Hemostasis; Innate immune receptors; Reperfusion injury; Transendothelial migration.