Regulation of apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells

Apoptosis or programmed cell death has recently been shown to occur in physiological and pathological remodelling of the vessel wall, and in disease states such as atherosclerosis. Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells is regulated by the interaction between local cytokine signals, cell-cell contact and the expression of specific proapoptotic and antiapoptotic genes. However, the precise role of apoptosis in vessel wall homeostasis is still unclear.