OBJECTIVE Vascular calcification which refers to ectopic mineralization in vascular cells is associated with several conditions, such as chronic kidney disease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. Estrogen-related receptor (ERR)γ is a member of the orphan nuclear receptor superfamily, which plays diverse roles in regulating homeostatic and metabolic processes. However, the role of ERRγ in v...

Vascular smooth muscle cells in muscular arteries are more elongated than those in elastic arteries. Previously, we reported changes in the contractility of engineered vascular smooth muscle tissue that appeared to be correlated with the shape of the constituent cells, supporting the commonly held belief that elongated muscle geometry may allow for the better contractile tone modulation require...

Pioglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing, antidiabetic agent, has blood pressure-lowering effects in insulin-resistant hypertensive rats and attenuates growth factor-induced increases of intracellular Ca2+ in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells. To determine whether modulation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels plays a role in this association, we investigated the effects of pioglitazone on vol...

IGF I is an ubiquitous peptide that activates a membrane tyrosine kinase receptor and has autocrine/paracrine effects on vascular smooth muscle cells. Thrombin activates a G-protein coupled receptor and is also a mitogen for vascular smooth muscle cells. To assess the potential role of IGF I as a mediator of thrombin's effects, we characterized expression of IGF I and of its receptor on vascula...

Vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation plays a major role in the development of numerous vascular pathologies. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate smooth muscle cell proliferation is therefore essential for the development of new therapies for the treatment of these pathologies. Skp2 is an F-box protein component of the SCFSkp2 ubiquitin-ligase that controls cellular prolife...

Objective(s): To investigate the role of autophagy in advanced glycation end products (AGEs)-induced proliferation and migration in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).Materials and Methods: After culture, VSMCs were treated with 0, 1, 10, and 100 μg/ml concentrations of AGEs. Autophagy specific protein light chain 3 (LC3)-I/II was determined by western blotting, autophagosomes were observ...

BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence to support a role for stem cells in the regeneration and repair of the human cardiovascular system. However, significant controversy still remains about the extent of chimerism present in blood vessels and myocytes of transplanted human hearts. METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated the contribution of infiltrating host cells to human cardiac allografts by...

Diverse classes of molecules regulate cell migration, one of the most fundamental processes in development and disease. In the vascular system, smooth muscle cell migration mediated by the PDGF-B pathway (1) is required for both normal blood vessel formation during development and pathogenesis of vascular diseases. In this paracrine signaling pathway, endothelial cells secrete PDGF-B, which act...

Interactions between vascular cells and blood cells are central to the development of the atherosclerotic process. Under normal circumstances, blood cells do not associate with the blood vessel; however, in response to atherogenic stimuli, platelets, lymphocytes and mononuclear leukocytes interact with the vessel wall and induce changes in the vascular micro-environment that support atheroma fo...