PKD2 and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: KLF2 and KLF4, the main transcription factors specifically induced in response to shear stress in ECs [5]; PKD2, a component of cilia and sensor of shear stress causing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with accompanying cardiovascular phenotypes [16]; thrombomodulin (THBD), a shear stress-induced anti-coagulant associated with aortic remodelling [17]; and tyrosine kinase receptor 1, which is almost exclusively EC-specific and induced in a flow-dependent manner in experimentally manipulated animal vessels [18].