Despite considerable investigation, the mechanisms underlying the functional properties of smooth muscle are poorly understood. This can be attributed, at least in part, to a lack of knowledge about the structure and organization of the contractile apparatus inside the muscle cell. Recent observations of the plasticity of smooth muscle and of morphometry of the cell have provided enough informa...

Silk fibroin scaffolds were investigated for their ability to support attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of human gastrointestinal epithelial and smooth muscle cell lines in order to ascertain their potential for tissue engineering. A bi-layer silk fibroin matrix composed of a porous silk fibroin foam annealed to a homogeneous silk fibroin film was evaluated in parallel with small i...

RATIONALE Recent findings have demonstrated that muscarinic M(3) receptor stimulation enhances airway smooth muscle proliferation to peptide growth factors in vitro. Because both peptide growth factor expression and acetylcholine release are known to be augmented in allergic airway inflammation, it is possible that anticholinergics protect against allergen-induced airway smooth muscle remodelin...

THE EVOLUTION OF ATHEROMA. . . . . . . . 1000 Smooth Muscle Cell Migration and Proliferation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 Smooth Muscle Cell Death During Atherogenesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 The Arterial Extracellular Matrix. . . . . . 1001 Angiogenesis in Plaques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001 Plaque Mineralization. . . . . ....