192 MODULATED EXOSOME SECRETION BY VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS IS A NOVEL REGULATORY MECHANISM OF VASCULAR CALCIFICATION

Vascular calcification is a regulated pathological process similar to bone formation which is mediated by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) undergoing osteogenic transdifferentiation. Initiation of vascular calcification occurs in small membrane-bound matrix vesicles (MVs), secreted by VSMCs into the extracellular matrix however the mechanisms regulating MV biogenesis and secretion are unclear. Fetuin-A, a circulating protein abundant in MVs...