Elevated glucose levels promote contractile and cytoskeletal gene expression in vascular smooth muscle via Rho/protein kinase C and actin polymerization.
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is in part attributed to the effects of hyperglycemia on vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In diabetic animal models, hyperglycemia results in hyper-contractility of vascular smooth muscle possibly due to increased activation of Rho-k