Mechanotransduction in vascular physiology and pathology

Blood vessels are lined with cells that feel the push and pull of flowing blood, and a newly discovered sensor on those cells dictates where fatty plaques form in arteries. This matters because plaques cause atherosclerosis—the artery-clogging disease behind most heart attacks and strokes. While doctors know that plaques cluster in vessel bends and branches where blood flow is disturbed, the molecular trigger has remained unclear. The researchers have now identified a mechanoreceptor—a protein that converts physical force into biochemical signals—that drives plaque formation specifically in these disturbed-flow zones. The project will test whether this sensor operates in human arteries, map its normal role in vessel health, and work out exactly how it switches on disease-causing pathways. If successful, the work could reveal a new target for drugs that prevent atherosclerosis by blocking the sensor’s activity, rather than just managing cholesterol or blood pressure afterwards. This is primarily fundamental science—understanding how a physical force becomes a biological instruction. But similar discoveries about mechanoreceptors have already led to treatments for pain and heart failure. A deeper grasp of this sensor could eventually translate into therapies that stop plaques before they start.