BVR maintains endothelial phenotype

Biliverdin reductase (BVR) is the enzyme of heme degradation pathway. Our experiments revealed that BVR is necessary to maintain the phenotype of endothelial cells. We showed that human primary endothelial cells devoid of BVR lose their phenotype and acquire mesenchymal markers. This effect seems to be mediated by BVR-dependet cytoplasm-nulcear heme trafficing. The paper was published in the Special Issue of Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.