Smooth Muscle Cells — The Involuntary Muscle Cells

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are involuntary, non-striated muscle cells that line the insides of hollow organs such as arteries, lungs, bladder, the digestive system, and the reproductive system. SMC function is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (whereas skeletal muscle cells are controlled by the somatic nervous system). SMCs mediate the contractility of organ tissue and are the reason why we can breathe and digest our food without having to think about doing these critical tasks.

Lifeline® offers the following high quality normal human smooth muscle cell lines for research purposes:

• Cardiovascular (Aortic, Coronary Artery, Pulmonary Artery)
• Respiratory system (Lung, Bronchial/Tracheal)
• Bladder
• Reproductive system (Uterus)

Lifeline® smooth muscle cells can be used to study a variety of biological processes and diseases. Cardiovascular SMCs can be used to model angiogenesis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, or vascular/pulmonary biology. Lung SMCs can be used to model normal airway function as well as respiratory diseases like COPD and asthma. Both bladder and reproductive SMCs can be used to model normal biological functions as well as cancer and other diseases affecting these organs.

VascuLife® SMC Medium for Optimal Growth

These cell lines achieve optimal growth when cultured in Lifeline® VascuLife® SMC Medium. This medium is supplemented with specialized VascuLife® SMC LifeFactors that help maintain cell morphology, function, and proliferation. Our cell lines have been validated in house and are negative for von Willebrand Factor and positive for smooth muscle α-actin.

Here are a few examples of recently published studies that use Lifeline® normal SMCs to understand normal human biology and to develop useful technologies for scientific and health research:

• Loai et al. used Lifeline® normal human aortic endothelial cells and aortic SMCs (along with VascuLife® Endothelial and SMC culture medium) to develop a concurrent, dual contrast MRI cell imaging technology. They labeled these cell lines using positive and negative contrast agents (gadolinium oxide and iron oxide nanoparticles respectively). The authors were able to distinguish both cell types in a co-culture experiment using MRI. Their system can be used to monitor cell-cell interactions, track cell migration, and improve the resolution of MRI cell-based imaging.

• Thompson et al.explored the effects of the drug resveratrol on vascular SMC health. Using Lifeline® coronary artery SMCs, they found that resveratrol promoted vascular SMC differentiation by activating the SirT1 and AMPK signaling pathways. De-differentiation of vascular SMCs has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. Thus, this study suggests that resveratrol could have positive effects on cardiovascular health by encouraging vascular SMC plasticity.

• Nabzdyk et al. developed an efficient siRNA transfection technology that has promising applications for gene therapy. Using Lifeline® normal human aortic SMCs cultured in VascuLife® SMC media, they developed a high throughput screen that optimizes siRNA transfection conditions and identifies the appropriate RNAi delivery method for specific cell types. Their technology will reduce the time and cost of conduction in vitro cell assays.

We want you to have the best experience using our human cell lines and culture media. If you have used any of our SMC products, shoot us an email and let us know about your latest success story!