ReviewCardiovascular research2021
Vascular smooth muscle cells in atherosclerosis: time for a re-assessment.
Review in Cardiovascular research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 308 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
308 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 435 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence Synthesis and Mechanism Analysis of Quercetin Treatment for Atherosclerosis: A Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Bibliometric analysis of research hotspots and emerging trends in mitophagy and atherosclerosis (2004-2024).Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Actin cytoskeletal dynamics in hepatic myofibroblasts and fibrosis.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026Review
- Cell-Surface Signatures and Targets of Modulated Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis: From State Identification to Precision Intervention.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Review
- Smooth Muscle Cell Plasticity as a Central Determinant of Plaque Stability.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Tissue-Specific Chemerin in Atherosclerosis.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- From cell to disease: Regulatory networks and mechanisms of super‑enhancers in aging (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Olfactomedin 2 Promotes Atherosclerosis by Eliciting Smooth Muscle Foam Cell Formation.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026Article
- Olfactomedin-2 at the Crossroads of Smooth Muscle Cell Plasticity.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026Article
- Coordinated inflammatory macrophage and vascular smooth muscle cell remodeling signatures in human atherosclerosis: An integrative single-cell and bulk transcriptomic analysis.Journal of cell communication and signaling · 2026Article
- CL-316243 facilitates stable atherosclerotic plaque phenotypes in association with suppression of perivascular adipose tissue ferroptosis via upregulating C/EBPβ.Redox biology · 2026Article
- Cell Membrane-Coated Biomimetic Nanocarriers for Plaque-Targeted Atherosclerosis Therapy: Molecular Mechanisms, Inflammatory Microenvironments, and Translational Challenges.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Leiomodin 1 deficiency promotes lipid accumulation and redirects gene regulatory programs in smooth muscle cells exposed to oxidized LDL.Research square · 2026Article
- GPR132 antagonists alleviate atherosclerosis by suppressing M1 polarization and subsequent VSMCs proliferation and migration as revealed by transcriptomic profiling.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026Article
- TRIM65 accelerates VSMC-derived foam cell formation and arteriosclerosis progression by inhibiting mitophagy.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2026Article
- Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Plasticity in Atherosclerosis: Mechanisms, Recent Advances, and Therapeutic Implications.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- The changing epidemiology of human type 2 diabetes-associated atherosclerosis: Pathophysiological mechanisms and emerging treatment possibilities.Journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic, Specific Marker, and Pathway Analysis of Smooth Muscle Cell Foam Cells Relative to Macrophage Foam Cells in Human Atherosclerosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Dual-Omics Profiling of Carotid Plaques Reveals Stage-Dependent Host-Microbiome Interaction Dynamics from Formation to Rupture.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Macrophage membrane-functionalized biomimetic Yiqi Huoxue formula nanoparticles improve atherosclerosis by regulating smooth muscle cell phenotypic transition via the KLF4/NF-κB pathway.Chinese medicine · 2026Article
248 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are key participants in both early and late-stage atherosclerosis. VSMCs invade the early atherosclerotic lesion from the media, expanding lesions, but also forming a protective fibrous cap rich in extracellular matrix to cover the 'necrotic' core. Hence, VSMCs have been viewed as plaque-stabilizing, and decreased VSMC plaque content-often measured by expression of contractile markers-associated with increased plaque vulnerability. However, the emergence of lineage-tracing and transcriptomic studies has demonstrated that VSMCs comprise a much larger proportion of atherosclerotic plaques than originally thought, demonstrate multiple different phenotypes in vivo, and have roles that might be detrimental. VSMCs down-regulate contractile markers during atherosclerosis whilst adopting alternative phenotypes, including macrophage-like, foam cell-like, osteochondrogenic-like, myofibroblast-like, and mesenchymal stem cell-like. VSMC phenotypic switching can be studied in tissue culture, but also now in the media, fibrous cap and deep-core region, and markedly affects plaque formation and markers of stability. In this review, we describe the different VSMC plaque phenotypes and their presumed cellular and paracrine functions, the regulatory mechanisms that control VSMC plasticity, and their impact on atherogenesis and plaque stability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.