Vascular Microenvironment and Atherosclerosis
A Special Issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409) belonging to the section "Cells of the Cardiovascular System".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2026 | Viewed by 269
Editors
Interests: atherosclerosis; smooth muscle cells; phenotypic switching; phenotypic modulation; ER stress; HSF1; perk
2. Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Québec, QC G1E 6W2, Canada
Interests: duchenne muscular dystrophy; friedreich ataxia; alzheimer’s disease; CRISPR; base editing; myoblast transplantation
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall that arises from complex interactions among vascular cells, immune cells, circulating factors, and the extracellular matrix within the vascular microenvironment. While dyslipidemia and inflammation are well-established drivers of disease, increasing evidence indicates that local cellular and molecular cues within the vessel wall critically shape disease initiation, progression, and plaque stability.
The vascular microenvironment integrates signals from endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, immune populations, and stromal components, as well as mechanical forces such as shear stress and matrix stiffness. These signals regulate key processes including endothelial activation, immune cell recruitment, metabolic adaptation, cellular phenotypic transitions, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Recent advances in single-cell and spatial omics technologies, high-resolution imaging, and experimental models have begun to uncover the remarkable heterogeneity and dynamic communication networks that characterize atherosclerotic plaques.
This Special Issue will highlight emerging insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms through which the vascular microenvironment regulates atherosclerosis. We welcome original research articles and reviews addressing intercellular communication, inflammatory signaling, metabolic regulation, extracellular matrix dynamics, and biomechanical influences on vascular biology and disease. Studies employing advanced omics approaches, innovative imaging methods, and translational models of atherosclerosis are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Abhijnan Chattopadhyay
Prof. Dr. Jacques P. Tremblay
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- vascular microenvironment
- atherosclerosis
- vascular inflammation
- endothelial cells
- smooth muscle cells
- vascular–immune cell interactions
- extracellular matrix
- vascular remodeling
- mechanotransduction
- vascular biology
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