Smooth Muscle Cells May Hold Key

Beginning of article

A basic mechanism by which smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels can grow--sometimes abnormally--has been discovered by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, suggesting methods of treatment for a number of coronary diseases. Abnormal growth of cells inside blood vessels is involved in hypertension, coronary artery disease, tumors called leiosarcomas, and various other conditions.

"By understanding this detailed mechanism, it is now possible to begin to design therapies to interfere with it and thereby potentially prevent various vascular disorders in humans," maintains Eric Olson, chairman of Molecular Biology.

There are …