Bristol Heart Institute, School of Clinical Sciences, Research Floor Level 7, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Upper Maudlin St, Bristol BS2 8HW, UK.
Cardiovasc Res. 2012 Jul 15;95(2):233-40. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvs141. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the major cell type within blood vessels. SMCs exhibit low rates of proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in normal blood vessels. However, increased SMC proliferation, migration, and apoptosis rates radically alter the composition and structure of the blood vessel wall and contribute to cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, and restenosis that occur after coronary artery vein grafting and stent implantation. Consequently, therapies that modulate SMC proliferation, migration, and apoptosis may be useful for treating cardiovascular diseases. The family of Wnt proteins, which were first identified in the wingless drosophila, has a well-established role in embryogenesis and development. It is now emerging that Wnt proteins also regulate SMC proliferation, migration, and survival. In this review article, we discuss recently emerging research that has revealed that Wnt proteins are important regulators of SMC behaviour via activation of β-catenin-dependent and β-catenin-independent Wnt signalling pathways.
血管平滑肌细胞（SMC）是血管中的主要细胞类型。在正常血管中，SMC 的增殖、迁移和凋亡率较低。然而，SMC 增殖、迁移和凋亡率的增加会彻底改变血管壁的组成和结构，并导致心血管疾病，如动脉粥样硬化和冠状动脉旁路移植术及支架植入术后再狭窄。因此，调节 SMC 增殖、迁移和凋亡的治疗方法可能对治疗心血管疾病有用。Wnt 蛋白家族最初在无翅果蝇中被鉴定出来，在胚胎发生和发育中具有重要作用。现在人们已经发现，Wnt 蛋白也调节 SMC 的增殖、迁移和存活。在这篇综述文章中，我们讨论了最近的研究进展，这些研究表明 Wnt 蛋白通过激活β-连环蛋白依赖性和β-连环蛋白非依赖性 Wnt 信号通路，是 SMC 行为的重要调节因子。
