title: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Phenotypic Switch in Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle.
abstract: As a general rule, smooth muscle cells (SMC) are able to switch from a contractile phenotype to a less mature synthetic phenotype. This switch is accompanied by a loss of differentiation with decreased expression of contractile markers, increased proliferation as well as the synthesis and the release of several signaling molecules such as pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemotaxis-associated molecules, and growth factors. This SMC phenotypic plasticity has extensively been investigated in vascular diseases, but interest is also emerging in the field of gastroenterology. It has in fact been postulated that altered microenvironmental conditions, including the composition of microbiota, could trigger the remodeling of the enteric SMC, with phenotype changes and consequent alterations of contraction and impairment of gut motility. Several molecular actors participate in this phenotype remodeling. These include extracellular molecules such as cytokines and extracellular matrix proteins, as well as intracellular proteins, for example, transcription factors. Epigenetic control mechanisms and miRNA have also been suggested to participate. In this review key roles and actors of smooth muscle phenotypic switch, mainly in GI tissue, are described and discussed in the light of literature data available so far. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 295-302, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University Sapienza Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Annunziata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scirocco
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanit, à, Rome, Italy.|Center of Metabolomics, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matarrese
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University Sapienza Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marilia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carabotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanit, à, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ascione
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanit, à, Rome, Italy.|San Raffaele Pisana Institute, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Malorni
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University Sapienza Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Severi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs