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Letter

Nature Medicine 12, 1075–1080 (1 September 2006) | doi:10.1038/nm1459

Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells induces features of plaque vulnerability in atherosclerosis

Murray C H Clarke , Nichola Figg , Janet J Maguire , Anthony P Davenport , Martin Goddard , Trevor D Littlewood & Martin R Bennett

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) apoptosis occurs in many arterial diseases, including aneurysm formation, angioplasty restenosis and atherosclerosis. Although VSMC apoptosis promotes vessel remodeling, coagulation and inflammation, its precise contribution to these diseases is unknown, given that apoptosis frequently accompanies vessel injury or alterations to flow.