Click on image to view larger version.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram depicts a section of a human artery during atherotic plaque formation (adapted from Ross, N. Engl. J. Med., vol. 340, pp. 115–126). We find that some SMCs express very little HMGB1 (in brown), some express it conspicuously in the nucleus, and some express it both in nucleus and cytoplasm. The latter are secreting HMGB1, which in turn can promote SMC migration, SMC proliferation, and further HMGB1 secretion. Thus, HMGB1 secretion can support an autocrine loop of SMC activation leading to intimal and neointimal hyperplasia.
