It has long been known that bone tissue and even marrow can form in human arteries, usually near cholesterol deposits. This process has been considered due to passive crystal precipitation in dying cells. However, we recently demonstrated for the first time that arterial calcification is associated with bone morphogenetic protein, the most potent bone differentiation factor in development, suggesting that the process is both regulated and related to embryonic development. To further study this process, we developed a tissue culture model in which artery wall cells spontaneously aggregate into mineral-producing nodules, just as do cultured bone cells. We have isolated and cloned the responsible cell, and we have distinguished it from previously known vascular cells by its surface expression of a ganglioside.
Mechanical stimulation induces intercellular calcium signaling in bovine aortic endothelial cells.
K.E. Watson, S. Horn, I. Herman, and L.L. Demer. Expression of bone morphogenetic protein in human atherosclerotic lesions. Watson, K.E., K. Bostrom, B. Norton, T. Lam, and L.L. Demer.