The Double Face of Smooth Muscle Cells in Vascular Biology—Friends or Foes, Damage or Regeneration?

Dear Colleagues,

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the most numerous cellular component of the arterial wall, where they form the middle layer called tunica media. They ensure the basic physiological functions of blood vessels, namely contraction, relaxation, and thus regulation of blood flow and pressure. Therefore, in advanced tissue engineering, the layer of SMCs in vascular replacements should always be reconstructed. Nevertheless, tissue engineers have often avoided the presence of SMCs in vascular substitutes. The reason was a high readiness of SMCs for migration and proliferation, which often exceeded the scope of normal regeneration, and led to restenosis of the vascular replacement. A similar mechanism also leads to the formation of atherosclerotic lesions and thickening of the vascular wall in hypertension and other vascular disorders. SMCs undergo a so-called phenotypic modulation, i.e., a transition from a resting, non-proliferative, differentiated contractile phenotype to a less mature, synthetic phenotype, in some ways reminiscent of stem cells. Therefore, during the reconstruction of the vessel wall (whether directly from SMCs or from stem cells), it is necessary to differentiate the cells towards a contractile phenotype via suitable biochemical and mechanical stimuli. These factors include suitable properties of the scaffolds, a suitable composition of the culture medium, suitable mechanical stress in dynamic bioreactors, as well as the presence of a mature semipermeable endothelial cell layer.

In this Special Issue of Cells, I invite you to contribute with original research articles, reviews, or communication articles on all aspects related to the theme of “The double face of smooth muscle cells in vascular biology – from blood vessel damage to regeneration”. Expert articles describing mechanistic, functional, biochemical, cellular, molecular, or genetic aspects of the role of SMCs in blood vessel wall damage or regeneration are highly welcome. Relevant topics include but are not limited to:

• Role of SMCs in vascular diseases;
• Phenotypic switching;
• Contractile phenotype and its achieving/maintaining;
• Synthetic phenotype and its potential reversal;
• Role of extracellular matrix and scaffolds;
• Role of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and hormones;
• Role of oxidative damage and inflammation;
• Vascular replacements and vascular tissue engineering;
• Differentiation of SMCs from stem cells;
• Genetic and RNA modifications of stem cells and SMCs;
• In vitro SMC-based models of the vascular wall or vascular diseases;
• Differences in SMC behavior related to gender, age, species, and localization in the vascular bed, etc.

Dr. Lucie Bacakova
Guest Editor

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• vascular smooth muscle cells
• phenotypic modulation
• vascular disease
• stem cell differentiation
• vascular tissue engineering
• regenerative medicine