The physiologic role of smooth muscle structure in defining arterial function is poorly
understood. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between vascular smooth muscle …

The major functions of vascular smooth muscle are contraction, thereby mediating vaso
constriction, and the synthesis of the extracellular proteins and polysaccharides of the …

Publisher Summary There is no difficulty in identifying the fully differentiated smooth muscle
cell and distinguishing it from other cell types in vivo. However, it is important to distinguish …

Blood vessels are subjected to mechanical loads of pressure and flow, inducing smooth
muscle circumferential and endothelial shear stresses. The perception and response of …

The occurrence of vascular domains with specific biological and pharmacological
characteristics suggests that smooth muscle cells in different arteries may respond …

Vascular smooth muscle contraction is thought to occur by a mechanism similar to that
described for striated muscles, ie, via a cross-bridge cycling–sliding filament mechanism …

Publisher Summary The proliferation of smooth muscle cells is thought to be a key event in
the development of atherosclerotic lesions and is involved in the restenosis of arteries. To …

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) perform diverse functions that can be categorized as
contractile and synthetic. A traditional model holds that these distinct functions are …

One of the key features of atherosclerosis formation and progression is 'dedifferentiation'of
contractile arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) in synthetic cells. In primary cultures and …

Arterioles exposed to norepinephrine (NE) for 4 h exhibit incomplete relaxation on removal
of the agonist. We hypothesized that this is due to a mechanoadaptation process associated …