CREG: a possible candidate for both prevention and treatment of proliferative vascular disease.

Cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes (CREG), a novel cellular protein, was discovered in 1998. Accumulating evidence, mainly from our laboratory, has suggested that CREG plays critical roles in reducing neointimal hyperplasia, maintaining vascular homeostasis, and promoting endothelial restoration. The study of CREG has the potential to offer new insights into both prevention and treatment of proliferative vascular disease, and will help us understand the processes of vascular repair after injury. It will also contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies and devices, such as anti-in-stent restenosis stents. The present review summarizes our research on the molecular identity of CREG, and reviews the biological activities of CREG in regulating cell differentiation, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells.