Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell

A vascular cell type of the human nervous system.

Contractile mural cells that wrap the walls of cerebral arteries and arterioles; by constricting or relaxing they set vessel diameter and vascular tone, regulating cerebral blood flow and contributing to neurovascular coupling.

Function

Contractile cells of cerebral arteries/arterioles that regulate vessel diameter, vascular tone, and cerebral blood flow.

Morphology

Spindle-shaped

Specification

  • Receptors: Adrenergic receptors; Purinergic receptors
  • Location: Walls (tunica media) of CNS arteries and arterioles
  • Projections: Non-neuronal; circumferentially wrap the vessel wall
  • Firing: Non-spiking; slow-wave / calcium-driven contraction
  • Markers: ACTA2 (alpha-SMA); CNN1 (calponin); TAGLN (SM22-alpha); MYH11; SMTN (smoothelin)
  • Developmental origin: Neural crest (forebrain vessels) / mesoderm (hindbrain and other vessels)
  • Disease: CADASIL (NOTCH3); Stroke; Hypertension
  • Cell Ontology: CL:0002590

References

  1. Joutel A et al. (1996). Notch3 mutations in CADASIL, a hereditary adult-onset condition causing stroke and dementia.. Nature 383 PMID 8878478
  2. Iadecola C (2017). The Neurovascular Unit Coming of Age: A Journey through Neurovascular Coupling in Health and Disease.. Neuron 96 PMID 28957666

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