Schecter Alison D, Berman Adriane B, Taubman Mark B
The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, New York, NY 14642, USA.
Microcirculation. 2003 Jun;10(3-4):265-72. doi: 10.1038/sj.mn.7800192.
Atherosclerosis is considered to be an inflammatory disease. Chemokines are low-molecular-weight proteins that exert their effects, in part, through mediating leukocytic infiltration into the vessel wall. Recently, studies have determined that chemokines and their receptors are present, and function on other cellular components comprising the arterial wall, such as the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle. Smooth muscle cells (SMC) constitute the major cellular element of the arterial wall and are located predominantly in the arterial media. Recent studies have demonstrated that SMC possess a number of functional chemokine receptors, including CCR5, CXCR4, and a receptor for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). It is likely that SMC are increasingly recognized as potential targets for chemokines, and that these effects may influence a variety of normal and pathological processes involving SMC such as atherosclerosis and arterial injury.
动脉粥样硬化被认为是一种炎症性疾病。趋化因子是低分子量蛋白质，其部分作用是通过介导白细胞浸润到血管壁中实现的。最近，研究已确定趋化因子及其受体存在于构成动脉壁的其他细胞成分上并发挥作用，如内皮细胞和血管平滑肌。平滑肌细胞（SMC）是动脉壁的主要细胞成分，主要位于动脉中膜。最近的研究表明，SMC具有多种功能性趋化因子受体，包括CCR5、CXCR4以及单核细胞趋化蛋白-1（MCP-1）的受体。越来越有可能的是，SMC被日益视为趋化因子的潜在靶点，并且这些作用可能会影响涉及SMC的各种正常和病理过程，如动脉粥样硬化和动脉损伤。
