TY - JOUR
T1 - The phenotypic responses of vascular smooth muscle cells exposed to mechanical cues
AU - Jensen, Lise Filt
AU - Bentzon, Jacob Fog
AU - Albarrán‐juárez, Julian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - During the development of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases, vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) located in the intima and media of blood vessels shift from a contractile state towards other phenotypes that differ substantially from differentiated SMCs. In addition, these cells acquire new functions, such as the production of alternative extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and signal molecules. A similar shift in cell phenotype is observed when SMCs are removed from their native environment and placed in a culture, presumably due to the absence of the physiological signals that maintain and regulate the SMC phenotype in the vasculature. The far majority of studies describing SMC functions have been performed under standard culture conditions in which cells adhere to a rigid and static plastic plate. While these studies have contributed to discovering key molecular pathways regulating SMCs, they have a significant limitation: the ECM microenviron-ment and the mechanical forces transmitted through the matrix to SMCs are generally not consid-ered. Here, we review and discuss the recent literature on how the mechanical forces and derived biochemical signals have been shown to modulate the vascular SMC phenotype and provide new perspectives about their importance.
AB - During the development of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases, vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) located in the intima and media of blood vessels shift from a contractile state towards other phenotypes that differ substantially from differentiated SMCs. In addition, these cells acquire new functions, such as the production of alternative extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and signal molecules. A similar shift in cell phenotype is observed when SMCs are removed from their native environment and placed in a culture, presumably due to the absence of the physiological signals that maintain and regulate the SMC phenotype in the vasculature. The far majority of studies describing SMC functions have been performed under standard culture conditions in which cells adhere to a rigid and static plastic plate. While these studies have contributed to discovering key molecular pathways regulating SMCs, they have a significant limitation: the ECM microenviron-ment and the mechanical forces transmitted through the matrix to SMCs are generally not consid-ered. Here, we review and discuss the recent literature on how the mechanical forces and derived biochemical signals have been shown to modulate the vascular SMC phenotype and provide new perspectives about their importance.
KW - Cyclic stretch
KW - Extracellular matrix
KW - Mechanical forces
KW - Phenotypic modulation
KW - Smooth muscle cells
KW - Stiffness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115900873&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/cells10092209
DO - 10.3390/cells10092209
M3 - Review
C2 - 34571858
AN - SCOPUS:85115900873
VL - 10
JO - Cells
JF - Cells
IS - 9
M1 - 2209
ER -