The nonexcitable smooth muscle: Remodeling the smooth muscle ion transport toolkit in disease - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #ion transport
- #smooth muscle
- #vascular disease
- Smooth muscle is crucial for hollow organs and regulates functions like blood pressure via arterial myocytes.
- In diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension, smooth muscle cells shift from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype, becoming inflammatory, migratory, and proliferative.
- This phenotypic switch involves remodeling of ion transport, moving away from excitation-contraction mechanisms (e.g., L-type calcium channels) toward channels like STIM/Orai and TRP channels.
- Changes in ion channels, transporters, and pumps create distinct calcium signaling that supports growth, movement, inflammation, and secretion while reducing contractility.
- Understanding these ion transport alterations in arterial myocytes may reveal new therapeutic targets for treating vascular diseases.