Zhe Sun, PhD

Research interests

• Biomechanics and cell contractile process of vascular smooth muscle
• N-cadherin- and integrin-mediated mechanotransduction in vascular smooth muscle cells
• Modulation of the myogenic tone of arterioles

Research summary

Cardiovascular diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Western and developing societies. To understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to vascular disease, my research investigates mechanisms by which adhesion molecule-mediated mechano-transduction in vascular smooth muscle contributes to large artery stiffening and sustained constriction of small vessels in chronic hypertension and aging. My research interests include: 1. Integrin alpha5beta1-mediated mechano-transduction in vascular smooth muscle cells 2. The cell-cell adhesion molecule, Ncadherin, mediates mechano-transduction in VSMC

Select publications

• Ramirez-Perez FI, Jurrissen TJ, Augenreich MA, Castorena-Gonzalez JA, Morales-Quinones M, Foote CA, Nourian Z, Lateef OM, Imkaew N, Sun Z, Hill MA, Meininger GA, Padilla J, Martinez-Lemus LA. Small Arteries From Old Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Exhibit Enhanced EndotheliumIndependent Vasodilatory Capacity and Reduced Stiffness. Microcirculation. 2025 Feb;32(2):e70004. doi: 10.1111/micc.70004. PMID: 39962557
• Khoukaz HB, Vadali M, Schoenherr A, Ramirez-Perez FI, Morales-Quinones M, Sun Z, Fujie S, Foote CA, Lyu Z, Zeng S, Augenreich MA, Cai D, Chen SY, Joshi T, Ji Y, Hill MA, Martinez-Lemus LA, Fay WP, PAI-1 Regulates the Cytoskeleton and Intrinsic Stiffness of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 2024 Oct;44(10):2191-2203, doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.320938. Epub 2024 Jun 13. PMID: 38868940 PMCID: PMC11424258 (available on 2025-10-01)
• Liping Zhang, Zhe Sun, Yan Yang, Austin Mack, Mackenna Rodgers, Annayya Aroor, Guanghong Jia, James R Sowers, Michael A Hill, Endothelial cell serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) mediates vascular stiffening, Metabolism, 2024 Feb 29:154:155831. DOI:10.1016/j.metabol.2024.155831 PMID: 38431129
• Jaime Ibarrola, Rachel R Xiang, Zhe Sun, Qing Lu, Michael A Hill, Iris Z Jaffe, Inhibition of the histone methyltransferase EZH2 induces vascular stiffness. Clin Sci (Lond), 2024 Mar 6;138(5):251-268. doi: 10.1042/CS20231478. PubMed PMID: 38362910.
• Sun, Z. *, Li, Z., Rodgers, M. et al. Myosin light chain phosphorylation exhibits a gradient across the wall of cerebellar arteries under sustained ex vivo vascular tone. Sci Rep 13, 909 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28092-3 PMID: 36650375 PMCID: PMC9845333