NIH R01 · 2025
Metabolic control of vascular smooth muscle cell plasticity
The dedifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) into synthetic SMCs, a hallmark of many occlusive vascular diseases, is associated with a metabolic switch that is characterized by increased aerobic glycolysis, which also fuels mevalonate metabolism, decreased glucose oxidation and increased fatty acid oxidation. However, the molecular links between environmental cues and the metabolic reprogramming remain poorly understood. Our pilot studies revealed that cyclin dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) is a master regulator of the metabolic control of vascular SMC dedifferentiation for intimal hyperplasia toward vascular occlusion. Mechanistic investigations uncovered that CDK8 controls the…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.