[Experimental approaches for gene therapy modification of vascular remodeling]

The active process of vascular remodeling involves changes in several cellular processes like cell growth, cell death, cell migration, and extracellular matrix production or degradation. The recent development of in vivo gene transfer technology has created a powerful new tool for the study of vascular remodeling by providing methods to overexpress or to inhibit specific local factors which are believed to contribute to the process of structural changes within the vasculature. The following overview describes recently published studies which investigated the effects of gene overexpression or inhibition on the process of vascular remodeling. The technology of gene transfer provides the opportunity for the development of novel therapeutic strategies such as gene replacement, gene correction, or gene augmentation, thus paving the way for gene therapy as treatment for vascular disease.