Vasomotor Impact of Perivascular Adipose Tissue on Coronary Circulation

Research during the past decade has highlighted the functional role of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in regulating the contractility of the underlying vascular smooth muscle cell layer. However, the mechanisms underlying these observations are not fully understood. PVAT has a protective role as it could induce vasorelaxation in different anatomical positions. However, there is a considerable evidence that the development and progression of coronary artery disease could be attributed to coronary PVAT. This review provides a comprehensive review of the vasomotor effect of PVAT that identifies the coronary PVAT as a necessary paracrine organ with a significant role in physiology and associated pathologies, and calls for basic cardiovascular research to solve this issue.