Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease

Danielle Yarbrough, Sharon Gerecht

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The vascular smooth muscle is vital for regulating blood pressure and maintaining cardiovascular health, and the resident smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in blood vessel walls rely on specific mechanical and biochemical signals to carry out these functions. Any slight change in their surrounding environment causes swift changes in their phenotype and secretory profile, leading to changes in the structure and functionality of vessel walls that cause pathological conditions. To adequately treat vascular diseases, it is essential to understand how SMCs crosstalk with their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we summarize in vivo and traditional in vitro studies of pathological vessel wall remodeling due to the SMC phenotype and, conversely, the SMC behavior in response to key ECM properties. We then analyze how three-dimensional tissue engineering approaches provide opportunities to model SMCs’ response to specific stimuli in the human body. Additionally, we review how applying biomechanical forces and biochemical stimulation, such as pulsatile fluid flow and secreted factors from other cell types, allows us to study disease mechanisms. Overall, we propose that in vitro tissue engineering of human vascular smooth muscle can facilitate a better understanding of relevant cardiovascular diseases using high throughput experiments, thus potentially leading to therapeutics or treatments to be tested in the future.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number449
JournalBioengineering
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • cardiovascular disease
  • extracellular matrix
  • tissue engineering
  • vascular smooth muscle cells

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this