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SM22α: A Maker of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation
CHENG Yun Hui, HAN Mei*, WEN Jin Kun
Hebei Laboratory of Medical Biotechnology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China
Abstract: SM22α is one of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) marker genes， and encodes a 22 kDa contraction-associated protein. SM22α gene is characterized by simple structure and restricted expression in differentiated VSMC. Thus， it has widely been used to study the regulatory mechanisms of VSMC-specific gene expression. On the basis of the features of its expression， recombinant promoters containing SM22α regulatory region have been developed， and serve as a tool for gene therapy to trigger the target protein expression in VSMC.
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