Lesions of atherosclerosis are only found in the intima, and the smooth muscle cells (SMC) 1 comprising these lesions are clonal. These two simple facts imply that formation of the intima, presumably by migration of cells from the media, is a key event in the early stages of atherosclerosis. There is also a lot of interest (1), although less data, in the possibility that smooth muscle migration and proliferation are critical in later stages of the disease and, particularly, in restenosis after angioplasty. This review will discuss possible critical roles for migration in the origin and progression of atherosclerotic lesions.
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Stephen M. Schwartz (1997) studied this question.