Phenotypic modifications of vascular smooth muscle cells could be responsible for vascular hyporeactivity to contracting agent in mechanically injured rat carotid artery

These data indicate that vascular hyporeactivity induced by mechanical injury may be due to alterations of either [Ca2+]i or contractile proteins. These modifications could be related to the changes of VSMC phenotypic characteristics, as supported by the observed modifications in MHC, SERCA2 and α-actin expression, proteins considered as biological markers of cellular differentiation.