title: We have contact: endothelial cell-smooth muscle cell interactions.
abstract: Blood vessels are composed of two primary cell types, endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, each providing a unique contribution to vessel function. Signaling between these two cell types is essential for maintaining tone in mature vessels, and their communication is critical during development, and for repair and remodeling associated with blood vessel growth. This review will highlight the pathways that endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells utilize to communicate during vessel formation and discuss how disruptions in these pathways contribute to disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Heart Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Brenda.lilly@nationwidechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lilly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology