SRF-independent roles of Myocardin in differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells

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It is critical to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of vascular functions. The medial layers of blood vessels are composed of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), which perform the contractile functions of blood vessels, arteries in particular. The differentiation of vascular SMCs and their associated contractile functions are under the control of myocardin, a master transcriptional co-factor that activates the transcription of genes that encode smooth muscle-specific contractile proteins. During aging and the onset of age-related vascular pathologies, vascular SMCs undergo phenotypic conversion, which is associated with loss of the differentiated/contractile phenotype, and concomitant acquisition of a synthetic phenotype, including enhanced proliferation,