Isolation and functional studies of rat aortic smooth muscle cells

Migration, proliferation, and collagen synthesis by vascular smooth muscle cells are thought to be key events involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Following endothelial injury, smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the intima of the blood vessels assume a synthetic, promitogenic phenotype resulting in their migration, proliferation, and deposition of extracellular matrix within the neointimal tissue. This chapter describes a method of isolation of SMCs from rat aorta and in vitro assays to characterize these abnormal SMC functions.