Fonctions de clairance de la paroi artérielle.

The organization of the arterial wall into 3 layers occurred concomitantly with the emergence of a highly muscularized, pressurized arterial system that facilitates outward hydraulic conductance of different substances across the arterial wall related to 3 physiological functions: (1) the endothelium ensures a partial barrier function; (2) the media comprises smooth muscle cells capable of endocytosis and phagocytosis; (3) and the outer adventitia and perivascular adipocytic tissue are the final receptacles of convected substances. The media, composed of vascular smooth muscle cells embedded in an extracellular matrix, takes up numerous molecules via scavenger receptors and are capable of phagocytosis, efferocytosis and endocytosis. The adventitia is the site of immune response development, inward angiogenesis, macromolecular lymphatic drainage, and neuronal stimulation. Consequently, although the clearance functions of the arterial wall are physiologically essential, they also contribute to the development of numerous arterial wall pathologies such as ageing and atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]