Dr. Csilla Csortos and Dr. Anita Boratkó summarized their most recent findings about the protein phosphatases playing a central role in cell signaling in endothelial cells. Their critical review was published in the journal of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB Life). Vascular endothelium is the layer of closely connected cells lining the inner surface of blood vessels. It regulates a variety of processes including vascular tone, cellular adhesion, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and vessel wall inflammation. The research group is interested in the function and dysfunction of endothelial cells with special regard to the enzymes catalyzing the dephosphorylation of proteins. They identified several proteins interacting with protein phosphatases and proved the role of the interactions in the endothelial cell functions (barrier function, cell proliferation or angiogenesis). In addition, the information generated in these studies may lead to identification of novel pharmacological targets in vascular diseases.
