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Updated: Oct 15, 2026

In Vitro Model of Physiological and Pathological Blood Flow with Application to Investigations of Vascular Cell Remodeling
Published on: November 3, 2015
Smooth muscle ultrastructure - still shrouded in mystery?
1Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics (School of Basic and Medical Biosciences), London, UK. elisabeth.ehler@kcl.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Smooth muscle is fundamental to life, as its function underpins circulation, nutrition, and reproduction. However, in contrast to striated muscle, the arrangement of its contractile filaments, composed of myosin and actin, is not readily apparent by light microscopy and, even electron microscopy fails to reveal an obviously ordered structural organisation. The aim of this review is to bring together classic ultrastructural data with more recent immunofluorescent analyses to develop a model how the protoplasma of a smooth muscle cell might be organised.
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