The Human-Specific and Smooth Muscle Cell-Enriched LncRNA SMILR Promotes Proliferation by Regulating Mitotic CENPF mRNA and Drives Cell-Cycle Progression Which Can Be Targeted to Limit Vascular Remodeling.

Rationale: In response to blood vessel wall injury, aberrant proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) causes pathological remodeling. However, the controlling mechanisms are not completely understood.

Objective: We recently showed that the human long noncoding RNA, SMILR, promotes vascular SMCs proliferation by a hitherto unknown mechanism.

PET Cell Tracking Using F-FLT is Not Limited by Local Reuptake of Free Radiotracer.

Assessing the retention of cell therapies following implantation is vital and often achieved by labelling cells with 2'-[F]-fluoro-2'-deoxy-D-glucose (F-FDG). However, this approach is limited by local retention of cell-effluxed radiotracer. Here, in a preclinical model of critical limb ischemia, we assessed a novel method of cell tracking using 3'-deoxy-3'-L-[F]-fluorothymidine (F-FLT); a clinically available radiotracer which we hypothesise will result in minimal local radiotracer reuptake and allow a more accurate estimation of cell retention.