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The Role of Mechanotransduction on Vascular Smooth Muscle Myocytes Cytoskeleton and Contractile Function
Author(s) -
Ye George J.C.,
Nesmith Alexander P.,
Parker Kevin Kit
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.22983
Subject(s) - mechanotransduction , cytoskeleton , myocyte , function (biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , vascular smooth muscle , chemistry , smooth muscle , cardiology , anatomy , medicine , biology , cell , biochemistry
ABSTRACT Smooth muscle (SM) exhibits a highly organized structural hierarchy that extends over multiple spatial scales to perform a wide range of functions at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. Early efforts primarily focused on understanding vascular SM (VSM) function through biochemical signaling. However, accumulating evidence suggests that mechanotransduction, the process through which cells convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical cues, is requisite for regulating contractility. Cytoskeletal proteins that comprise the extracellular, intercellular, and intracellular domains are mechanosensitive and can remodel their structure and function in response to external mechanical cues. Pathological stimuli such as malignant hypertension can act through the same mechanotransductive pathways to induce maladaptive remodeling, leading to changes in cellular shape and loss of contractile function. In both health and disease, the cytoskeletal architecture integrates the mechanical stimuli and mediates structural and functional remodeling in the VSM. Anat Rec, 297:1758–1769, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.