AUTHOR=Ahmetaj-Shala Blerina , Marei Isra , Kawai Ryota , Rothery Stephen , Pericleous Charis , Mohamed Nura A. , Gashaw Hime , Bokea Kalliopi , Samuel Jake , Vandenheste Annabelle , Shala Fisnik , Kirkby Nicholas S. , Mitchell Jane A. 

TITLE=Activation and Contraction of Human “Vascular” Smooth Muscle Cells Grown From Circulating Blood Progenitors

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.681347

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.681347

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=Blood outgrowth smooth muscle cells offer the means to study vascular cells without the requirement for surgery providing opportunities for drug discovery, tissue engineering and personalised medicine. However, little is known about these cells which has meant their therapeutic potential remains unexplored. Our objective was to investigate for the first time the ability of blood outgrowth smooth muscle cells and vessel derived smooth muscle cells to sense the thromboxane mimetic U46619 by measuring intracellular calcium elevation and contraction.
U46619 increased cytosolic calcium in blood outgrowth smooth muscle cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Increased calcium signal peaked between 10-20 seconds after U46619 in both smooth muscle cell types. Importantly, U46619 induced concentration-dependent contractions of both blood outgrowth smooth muscle cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. In summary, we show that responses of blood outgrowth smooth muscle cells parallel vascular smooth muscle cells providing critical evidence of their application in biomedical research.