To Contract Or Not To Contract: Decision Controlled By 2 MicroRNAs
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - 20:21
in Health & Medicine
New research has provided insight into the molecular regulators of the function of muscle cells in the walls of blood vessels, i.e., vascular smooth muscle cells. Specifically, the acquisition and/or maintenance of the ability of VSMCs to contract and relax, thereby modulating blood pressure and distributing blood to the areas of the body that need it most, was found to be controlled in mice by two small RNA molecules known miR-143 and miR-145.