Inflammation plays a critical role in the vascular response to injury. In particular, mechanical
injury using techniques such as balloon angioplasty and stenting results in complex
inflammatory reactions which influence proliferation of vessel wall constituents such as
endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and extracellular matrix proteins. Inflammatory cells
are recruited to the injured vessel wall initially as a reparative mechanism; however, these
same imflammatory processes are also pivotal in the development of restenotic lesions …