Understanding how blood vessel stiffness arises

The impact of matrix stiffness on smooth muscle cell contractile function (Mr Teclahymanot Afewerki)

Healthy blood vessels are constantly responding to their surrounding environment. They are lined with muscle cells that can expand and contract which helps them cope with changes in blood pressure and maintains blood flow throughout the body. As we age, and as circulatory diseases develop, these vessels become stiffer. At the moment, we don’t know exactly how this happens. This studentship aims to address blood vessel stiffening by developing new tests for studying contraction of muscle cells isolated from human blood vessels. Previously, researchers have used cells grown on plastic or glass, but in this study cells will be grown in conditions that better match those in the human body. The student will develop ways to encourage muscle cells to line up as they would do in the blood vessel cells and will measure the contractions of individual muscle cells. The hope is that by recreating the normal cell environment, they can manipulate the surrounding cells – known as the extracellular matrix – to see how changes in stiffness of the environment affect the muscle cells’ ability to contract. . They will also use the tests to find drugs that could potentially restore blood vessel function.