Blood vessels are extremely dynamic: depending on the external conditions, they can adapt their permeability for nutrients, their contractility, and even their shape. Unlike cardiac muscle cells, for example, the smooth muscle cells in blood vessels demonstrate a high degree of plasticity, so they can specialise or multiply as required, even repairing damage to the vessel wall. This vascular remodelling is evidently precisely regulated. Disruptions are extremely significant in conditions such as atherosclerosis or high blood pressure. At the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, scientists conducting research on genetically modified mice have discovered how external signals regulate vascular remodelling at cell level. This has created an entirely new understanding of regulation, which could pave the way for new approaches in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases.
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