How Cezanne affects blood vessel narrowing after angioplasty

A novel role of Cezanne in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointima hyperplasia

Dr Qingzhong Xiao and his team at Queen Mary University of London are studying how a molecule called Cezanne affects restenosis, when arteries re-narrow after coronary angioplasty. Doctors use coronary angioplasty to widen blocked or narrowed coronary arteries supplying the heart to improve the blood supply to heart muscle. A balloon is inserted to widen the artery, followed by a short wire-mesh tube called a stent to keep the artery open. Although the outcome for patients having angioplasty has improved significantly, restenosis, when the artery narrows again, can still occur up to six months afterwards. We need to understand why this occurs, and work out how to avoid it. Scientists have recently found that the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the blood vessel wall can overgrow after angioplasty and cause restenosis. Dr Xiao has found that an enzyme called Cezanne controls VSMC growth and survival, and levels of Cezanne are increased when arteries narrow. In this project, he will work out how Cezanne affects VSMC growth and survival. He will study Cezanne in a model of blood vessel injury and in samples from people with restenosis and with atherosclerosis, when arteries narrow with fatty plaques. His research aims to understand how Cezanne is involved in blood vessel remodelling in both conditions. By improving our understanding of Cezanne, this study could reveal a new way to prevent or treat atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty.