Regulation of smooth muscle phenotype
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Isolation of Primary Patient-specific Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells and Semiquantitative Real-time Contraction Measurements In Vitro
Published on: February 15, 2022
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Department of Clinical Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
Abstract:
Differentiated smooth muscle cells (SMCs) remain highly plastic, enabling them to alter their phenotype in response to environmental and pathologic stimuli. SMCs in vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis exhibit phenotypes clearly different from those of the mature cells in normal blood vessels. These phenotypically modulated SMCs play an integral role in the development of vascular diseases. This review addresses recent progress in our understanding of the mechanisms that control SMC phenotype during vascular development and in vascular disease. A particular focus is on the transcriptional control programs of the differentiated state of SMCs.
More Related Videos
09:06Quantitative Analysis of Cellular Composition in Advanced Atherosclerotic Lesions of Smooth Muscle Cell Lineage-Tracing Mice
Published on: February 20, 2019
08:59Utilizing the Precision-Cut Lung Slice to Study the Contractile Regulation of Airway and Intrapulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle
Published on: May 5, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Smooth Muscle Contraction
The onset of contraction is triggered by an increase in calcium ions within the sarcoplasm, similar to the process in striated muscle. However, smooth muscles have a relatively smaller reservoir of the sarcoplasmic...
Autoregulation of Blood Flow
Chemical Signaling in Autoregulation
Chemical signaling operates at the precapillary sphincter level, inciting either contraction or relaxation.
Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway
Pleiotropy