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Epsins in vascular development, function and disease

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Abstract

Epsins are a family of adaptor proteins involved in clathrin-dependent endocytosis. In the vasculature, epsins 1 and 2 are functionally redundant members of this family that are expressed in the endothelial cells of blood vessels and the lymphatic system throughout development and adulthood. These proteins contain a number of peptide motifs that allow them to interact with lipid moieties and a variety of proteins. These interactions facilitate the regulation of a wide range of cell signaling pathways. In this review, we focus on the involvement of epsins 1 and 2 in controlling vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. We also discuss the therapeutic implications of understanding the molecular mechanisms of epsin-mediated regulation in diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH grants R01HL093242, R01HL146134, R01HL130845, R01HL133216, and R01HL137229 to H.C. and HL149326 to Y.L. as well as an American Heart Association Established Investigator Award to H.C. and Scientist Development Grant 17SDG334110868 to H.W.

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  1. Sudarshan Bhattacharjee, Yang Lee, and Bo Zhu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vascular Biology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Surgery, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Sudarshan Bhattacharjee, Yang Lee, Bo Zhu, Hao Wu & Hong Chen

  2. Department of Pathology, Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Research Department, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Yabing Chen

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Bhattacharjee, S., Lee, Y., Zhu, B. et al. Epsins in vascular development, function and disease. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 78, 833–842 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-020-03642-4

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