Long noncoding RNA NEAT1 (nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1) is critical for phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells

Significance Many occlusive vascular diseases in humans are largely dependent upon vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic switching from a contractile to a proliferative phenotype, contributing to the formation of intimal lesions that eventually block the blood flow. Previous studies showed that the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)NEAT1 is critical for tumorigenesis. In this report, we showed thatNEAT1 expression was not only induced in VSMCs during phenotypic switching but functionally was critical for the smooth muscle phenotypic change. Our study demonstrates an unexpected role of the lncRNANEAT1 in VSMCs and suggests thatNEAT1 is a novel therapeutic target for treating occlusive vascular diseases in humans.