Effect of stretch stress on vascular remodeling--from perspective of vascular smooth muscle: recent progress

Vascular remodeling is both the initiating factor and final destination in various cardiovascular diseases.Different extents of vascular remodeling participate in the pathophysiology progress of atherosclerosis, hypertension and coronary artery stenting. Stretch stress is a biomechanical force generated by pulsatile blood flow. Abnormal stretch stress acts on smooth muscle cell can result in events such as atherosclerosis and in-stent restenosis, etc.The purpose of this review is to summarize the effects of stretch stress on vascular remodeling from the perspective of vascular smooth muscle cells, in order to provide insights into the research of atherosclerosis and hypertension as well as the development of next generation of bioresorbable vascular scaffold.