Vascular Remodeling of Arteriovenous Fistula

Arteriovenous (AV) fistula failure is a major clinical problem for the 350,000 patients currently on hemodialysis in the United States. The reasons for this failure are mainly attributed to venous stenosis due to neointimal hyperplasia together with a possible failure of vascular dilatation [1]. Despite the magnitude of the clinical problem, there are currently no effective therapies for AV fistula failure. We believe that this is due to a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms involved in both neointimal hyperplasia and vascular dilatation in the specific context of AV fistulae.