Loss of canonical insulin signaling accelerates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration through changes in p27Kip1 regulation.

Insulin resistance is associated with an accelerated rate of atherosclerosis. Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration and proliferation are important components of atherosclerosis. To elucidate the effects of the loss of normal insulin receptor (IR) signaling on VSMC function, we compared the proliferation and migration of murine VSMCs lacking the IR (L2-VSMCs) with wild type (WT-VSMCs).