Understanding the early stages of how our veins and arteries stiffen with age

Does enhanced smooth muscle cell contraction increase local matrix stiffness and promote smooth muscle cell proliferation? (Mr Sultan Ahmed)

As we age, our veins and arteries become less flexible, and this contributes to the development of heart and circulatory disease. The biological processes that initiate the stiffening of our blood vessels are still not well understood. By uncovering the steps that occur, it may be possible to design a medicine to disrupt them, and keep our arteries strong and supple for longer. Blood vessel walls contain vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), which can contract or relax to enable the vessel to narrow or dilate as required. Dr Derek Warren and colleagues propose that VSMCs can become deregulated and contract constantly, increasing blood vessel stiffness. They think this may occur through interactions with the mesh of structural proteins that cover and support cells, called the extracellular matrix. Using special gels and VSMCs from mice, they will study how the cells and their extracellular matrix interact during contraction. They’ll also look at how stiffening of the matrix changes the behaviour of the cells. This will increase our understanding of how our blood vessels stiffen with age, and could identify potential ways to help our veins and arteries stay healthy for longer.