Ruikai Chen1, Delphine Dean1,*
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 153-169, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.153
Abstract Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play an important role in regulating blood flow and pressure by contracting and relaxing in response to a variety of mechanical stimuli. A fully differentiated and functional VSMC should have both the ability to contract and relax in response to environmental stimuli. In addition, it should have the proper mechanical properties to sustain the mechanically active vascular environment. Stem cells can differentiate towards VSMC lineages and so could be used as a potential treatment for vascular repair. However, few studies have assessed the time it takes for stems cells to… More >