Understanding the mechanism of cell growth that leads to thickening of blood vessels

Mechanisms of selective clonal vascular smooth muscle cell expansion in disease

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are part of the blood vessels wall. When they multiply more than they should, it leads to a thickening in the blood vessel . This occurs during atherosclerosis where fatty materials builds up in the lining of the artery walls and narrows the arteries, or after a narrowed or blocked vessel has been re-opened, a process called restenosis. Dr Jorgensen and her team recently discovered the abnormal growth of VSMCs is caused by the rapid multiplication of a small subset of VSMCs, rather than a steady increase in the number of all VSMCs. They think this happens either because only a subset of cells is switched on for growth, or that all cells are given the signal to grow, but a small number have a survival advantage over the others. In this project, they will test those two possibilities. They will introduce an injury to blood vessel cells and then will follow the behaviour of all the different types of VSMC thanks to specific multicolour flagging, so they can follow the activity of specific types of cells over time. These results will help develop clinical treatments that target the correct cells while leaving the rest of the vessel wall intact.