Vascular mechanobiology, immunobiology, and arterial growth and remodeling

Since the mid-1970s, it has been increasingly recognized that vascular cells—endothelial, smooth muscle, and fibroblasts—are highly sensitive to mechanical stimuli, changing their gene expression profile in response to changes in mechanics. Such changes explain many observed vascular adaptations to perturbations in hemodynamics and certain pathologies. Similar to mechanical loading, inflammation also affects the extent of many vascular adaptations and disease progression. In this chapter, we briefly note some of the many mechanobiological and immunobiologic aspects of vascular growth and remodeling, with an emphasis on interactions between these two important contributors to vascular health and disease.