Numerous physiological and pathological stimuli promote the rearrangement of the actin
cytoskeleton, thereby modulating cellular motile functions. Although it seems intuitively …

The notion that cell shape and spreading can regulate cell proliferation has evolved over
several years, but only recently has this been linked to forces from within and upon the cell …

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) refers to the localized dilatation of the infra-renal aorta, in
which the diameter exceeds 3.0 cm. Loss of vascular smooth muscle cells, degradation of …

Vascular injury triggers dedifferentiation and cytoskeletal remodeling of smooth muscle cells
(SMCs), culminating in vessel occlusion. Serum response factor (SRF) and its coactivator …

Skeletal muscle hypertrophy can be induced by hormones and growth factors acting directly
as positive regulators of muscle growth or indirectly by neutralizing negative regulators, and …

Rationale: Myocardial infarction (MI) results in loss of cardiac myocytes in the ischemic zone
of the heart, followed by fibrosis and scar formation, which diminish cardiac contractility and …

microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in modulating a variety of cellular processes through
repression of mRNA targets. In a screen for miRNAs regulated by myocardin-related …

The vast diversity of cellular types and behaviours is mainly the result of combinatorial
interactions between a limited number of transcription factors and cellular signalling …

Serum response factor (SRF) is a highly conserved and widely expressed, single copy
transcription factor that theoretically binds up to 1,216 permutations of a 10-base pair cis …

Cardiac fibrosis, the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), remains an
unresolved problem in most forms of heart disease. In order to be successful in preventing …