Vascular Smooth Muscle Progenitor Cells: Building and Repairing Blood Vessels

• Published in: Circulation research Vol. 108; no. 3; pp. 365 - 377
• Main Authors: Majesky, Mark W, Dong, Xiu Rong, Regan, Jenna N, Hoglund, Virginia J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD American Heart Association, Inc 04.02.2011; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Vessels - cytology; Blood Vessels - physiology; Cell Differentiation - physiology; Epigenomics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - cytology; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - physiology; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - cytology; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - physiology; Regeneration - physiology; Vertebrates: cardiovascular system; Embryo; Stem cell; Precursor cell; Smooth muscle; specification; Adventitia; Vertebrata; Blood cell; Mammalia; Blood vessel; Circulatory system; Differentiation; Progenitor cell
• ISSN: 0009-7330; 1524-4571
• DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.110.223800

Molecular pathways that control the specification, migration, and number of available smooth muscle progenitor cells play key roles in determining blood vessel size and structure, capacity for tissue repair, and progression of age-related disorders. Defects in these pathways produce malformations of developing blood vessels, depletion of smooth muscle progenitor cell pools for vessel wall maintenance and repair, and aberrant activation of alternative differentiation pathways in vascular disease. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that uniquely specify and maintain vascular smooth muscle cell precursors is essential if we are to use advances in stem and progenitor cell biology and somatic cell reprogramming for applications directed to the vessel wall.