Increased endothelial cell (EC) permeability is central to the pathophysiology of
inflammatory syndromes such as sepsis and acute lung injury (ALI). Activated protein C
(APC), a serine protease critically involved in the regulation of coagulation and inflammatory
processes, improves sepsis survival through an unknown mechanism. We hypothesized a
direct effect of APC to both prevent increased EC permeability and to restore vascular
integrity after edemagenic agonists. We measured changes in transendothelial electrical …