Role of vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching in plaque progression: A hybrid modeling study

Growing genetic lineage mapping experiments have definitively shown a wide-ranging plasticity of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in atherosclerotic plaque and suggested that VSMCs can modulate their phenotypes in response to plaque microenvironment. Here, a multiscale hybrid discrete–continuous (HDC) modeling system is established to investigate the complex role of VSMC phenotypic switching within atherosclerotic lesions. The cellular...