Zhang J, Friedman MH. Adaptive response of vascular endothelial cells to an acute increase in shear stress magnitude. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 302: H983-H991, 2012. First published December 2, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00168.2011.-The adaptation of vascular endothelial cells to shear stress alteration induced by global hemodynamic changes, such as those accompanying exercise or digestion, is an essential component of normal endothelial physiology in vivo. An understanding of the transient regulation of endothelial phenotype during adaptation to changes in mural shear will advance our understanding of endothelial biology and may yield new insights into the mechanism of atherogenesis. In this study, we characterized the adaptive response of arterial endothelial cells to an acute increase in shear stress magnitude in well-defined in vitro settings. Porcine endothelial cells were preconditioned by a basal level shear stress of 15 Ϯ 15 dyn/cm 2 at 1 Hz for 24 h, after which an acute increase in shear stress to 30 Ϯ 15 dyn/cm 2 was applied. Endothelial permeability nearly doubled after 40-min exposure to the elevated shear stress and then decreased gradually. Transcriptomics studies using microarray techniques identified 86 genes that were sensitive to the elevated shear. The acute increase in shear stress promoted the expression of a group of anti-inflammatory and antioxidative genes. The adaptive response of the global gene expression profile is triphasic, consisting of an induction period, an early adaptive response (ca. 45 min) and a late remodeling response. Our results suggest that endothelial cells exhibit a specific phenotype during the adaptive response to changes in shear stress; this phenotype is different than that of fully adapted endothelial cells. permeability; gene expression; microarray ATHEROSCLEROSIS ARISES FROM endothelial cell dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction features increased permeability, enhanced expression of adhesion molecules and leukocyte adhesion, enhanced cell turnover, increased oxidant stress, and reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilation (51). Increased endothelial permeability leads to the accumulation of LDL in the intima, which is a key step in atherosclerotic development. The inflammatory response of endothelial cells results in the recruitment of monocytes, which migrate into the intima and differentiate into macrophages, which engulf oxidized LDL and form foam cells. The accumulation of foam cells in the intima leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Therefore, endothelial permeability and inflammatory status greatly affect arterial atherosusceptibility.Endothelial cells in the vasculature are constantly exposed to shear stress. Shear-dependent permeability to macromolecules has been examined both in vitro and in vivo. The application of shear stress to static cultured cells increased endothelial permeability to albumin (32) and dextran (50). However, these increases may have been caused by the transient response of endothelial cells to the onset of shear...