Regulation of differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells

摘要: The vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) in mature animals is a highly specialized whose principal function contraction. fully differentiated or SMC proliferates at an extremely low rate and almost completely geared for It expresses unique repertoire of contractile proteins, ion channels, signaling molecules that are required its when taken aggregate clearly distinguish it from any other type. During vasculogenesis, however, the SMC's proliferation production matrix components blood vessel wall. Moreover, even animals, retains remarkable plasticity, such can undergo relatively rapid reversible changes phenotype response to local environmental cues normally maintenance state. A key understanding differentiation identify signals factors induce maintain state determine molecular mechanisms control coordinate expression genes encoding proteins necessary SMC. purpose this review summarize our current knowledge regulation differentiation, with particular emphasis on consideration how process controlled during normal development these processes might be altered diseases as atherosclerosis, which characterized by marked alterations