Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease
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 environm...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Bioengineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/9/9/449 |
| _version_ | 1827663391521505280 |
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| author | Danielle Yarbrough Sharon Gerecht |
| author_facet | Danielle Yarbrough Sharon Gerecht |
| author_sort | Danielle Yarbrough |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5826ce86d49e42cc874cb2963b53c55f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5354 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bioengineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-5826ce86d49e42cc874cb2963b53c55f2023-11-23T15:05:46ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542022-09-019944910.3390/bioengineering9090449Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular DiseaseDanielle Yarbrough0Sharon Gerecht1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USAThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/9/9/449tissue engineeringextracellular matrixvascular smooth muscle cellscardiovascular disease |
| spellingShingle | Danielle Yarbrough Sharon Gerecht Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease Bioengineering tissue engineering extracellular matrix vascular smooth muscle cells cardiovascular disease |
| title | Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease |
| title_full | Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease |
| title_fullStr | Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease |
| title_short | Engineering Smooth Muscle to Understand Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Vascular Disease |
| title_sort | engineering smooth muscle to understand extracellular matrix remodeling and vascular disease |
| topic | tissue engineering extracellular matrix vascular smooth muscle cells cardiovascular disease |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/9/9/449 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT danielleyarbrough engineeringsmoothmuscletounderstandextracellularmatrixremodelingandvasculardisease AT sharongerecht engineeringsmoothmuscletounderstandextracellularmatrixremodelingandvasculardisease |