fig2

Figure 2. Contractile vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) express high levels of contractility markers, including α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and smooth muscle protein 22α (SM22α), to regulate vascular tone. Synthetic VSMCs have low contractility, proliferation and secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) that can promote VSMC migration and invasion to drive vascular repair after injury. Elevated calcium and phosphate levels (Ca/P) can induce an osteogenic VSMC phenotype with bone-like markers, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and apoptosis. Osteogenic VSMCs secrete calcifying EVs, which form a nidus for mineralization due to the loss of calcification inhibitors and being rich in annexins and phosphatidylserine.