Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Smooth Muscle Cells

Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped, involuntary contractile cells that form the muscular walls of hollow organs and tubular structures, including blood vessels, the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, the airways, and the reproductive system. Unlike striated skeletal and cardiac muscle, they lack organised sarc…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 37× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2832-4048 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped, involuntary contractile cells that form the muscular walls of hollow organs and tubular structures, including blood vessels, the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, the airways, and the reproductive system. Unlike striated skeletal and cardiac muscle, they lack organised sarcomeres and visible cross-striations, instead arranging actin and myosin filaments obliquely and anchoring them to dense bodies, which produces slow, sustained, and energy-efficient contraction. Their activity is governed largely by involuntary mechanisms, including autonomic innervation, hormones, and local mediators, with contraction triggered through calcium-dependent regulation of myosin light-chain phosphorylation. Smooth muscle controls vascular tone and blood pressure, propels contents through the gut, and regulates organ calibre and emptying. These cells also display phenotypic plasticity, switching between contractile and synthetic states in vascular remodelling and disease, and they can give rise to neoplasms such as leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma. Their dysfunction contributes to hypertension, vascular disease, and disorders of organ motility. The peer-reviewed research associated with this topic addresses endothelial and vascular function in stroke and hypertension, somatic mutations and signalling in uterine leiomyosarcoma, smooth-muscle tumours of the thyroid and other sites, and the regulation of vascular tone, reflecting the dual significance of smooth muscle cells in normal organ function and in vascular, motility, and neoplastic disease.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2015

Endothelial Function in Stroke Subtypes Using Endopat Technology

Enrique Jiménez Caballero PedroCorresponding author
Department of Neurology, San Pedro de Alcántara Hospital, Avenida de Pablo Naranjo nº 2, 10003. Cáceres. Spain.
Exact topic Neurological Research and Therapy Cited by 4 doi:10.14302/issn.2470-5020.jnrt-14-558
2021

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 37 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Smooth Muscle Cells, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Skeletal Muscle (ISSN 2832-4048).

Journal editorial board
Gerhard Meissner · United States Min Du · United States Jeong-Rae Kim · South Korea

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.