ArticleNature communications2018
Disease-relevant transcriptional signatures identified in individual smooth muscle cells from healthy mouse vessels.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 211 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
211 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 304 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integrative single-cell meta-analysis reveals disease-relevant vascular cell states and markers in human atherosclerosis.Cell reports · 2023Pooled it
- Molecular Interactions Between Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Macrophages in Atherosclerosis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Stenosis in Mature Arteriovenous Fistulas Characterized by Contractile Smooth Muscle Cells and Versican.Kidney international reports · 2026Article
- Single-cell transcriptomics reveals cell-type-specific circadian rhythms and their disruption by acute misalignment in mouse aorta.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Cell-Surface Signatures and Targets of Modulated Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis: From State Identification to Precision Intervention.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Review
- Smooth Muscle Cell Plasticity as a Central Determinant of Plaque Stability.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Maladaptive Piezo1 Mechanotransduction Drives Smooth Muscle Aging in the Gut.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Single-cell analysis of the progeria arterial wall reveals progerin-induced progressive, cell type-specific dysfunction and somatic mutation accumulation.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- A rare pre-existing progenitor-like Primed SMC compartment is the dominant inferred source of SMC-derived cellularity in vascular injury and atherosclerosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mechanotransduction in Marfan Syndrome and Related Aortic Disorders: Insights from Transcriptomic Analyses.Genes · 2026Review
- Aortic Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals ApoE-Isoform-Specific Influences on Vascular Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Inflammatory Neovascularization and Vascular Remodeling Associated With Carotid Plaque Destabilization.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Re-analysis of single-cell transcriptomics reveals a critical role of TNS1 gene in driving contractile VSMC transdifferentiation into macrophage-like SMC and atherosclerotic plaque instability.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Article
- Integration of Multi-Omics and Machine Learning Identifies TGFB1 and SERPINE1 as Biomarkers of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Senescence in Intracranial Aneurysms.Translational stroke research · 2026Article
- A Comprehensive Review of Epigenetic Regulation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells During Development and Disease.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- SAMD4A inhibits abdominal aortic aneurysm development and VSMC phenotypic transformation through targeting KDM2B.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Arterial origin-dependent susceptibility of vascular smooth muscle cells to prelamin A-induced senescence and rescue by umbilical artery-derived decellularized extracellular matrix.International journal of clinical and experimental pathology · 2026Article
- Microregional RNA sequencing reveals layer-specific smooth muscle cell heterogeneity in human bicuspid aortic valve-associated aortic dilatation.JVS-vascular science · 2026Article
- Early-phase impact of obesity-associated stress on murine vascular smooth muscle cells depends on EGFR and sex.Communications biology · 2025Article
- A cell and transcriptome atlas of human arterial vasculature.Cell genomics · 2025Article
151 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) show pronounced heterogeneity across and within vascular beds, with direct implications for their function in injury response and atherosclerosis. Here we combine single-cell transcriptomics with lineage tracing to examine VSMC heterogeneity in healthy mouse vessels. The transcriptional profiles of single VSMCs consistently reflect their region-specific developmental history and show heterogeneous expression of vascular disease-associated genes involved in inflammation, adhesion and migration. We detect a rare population of VSMC-lineage cells that express the multipotent progenitor marker Sca1, progressively downregulate contractile VSMC genes and upregulate genes associated with VSMC response to inflammation and growth factors. We find that Sca1 upregulation is a hallmark of VSMCs undergoing phenotypic switching in vitro and in vivo, and reveal an equivalent population of Sca1-positive VSMC-lineage cells in atherosclerotic plaques. Together, our analyses identify disease-relevant transcriptional signatures in VSMC-lineage cells in healthy blood vessels, with implications for disease susceptibility, diagnosis and prevention.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.