In chronic kidney disease (CKD) vascular calcification occurs in response to deranged
calcium and phosphate metabolism and is characterized by vascular smooth muscle cell
(VSMC) damage and attrition. To gain mechanistic insights into how calcium and phosphate
mediate calcification, we used an ex vivo model of human vessel culture. Vessel rings from
healthy control subjects did not accumulate calcium with long-term exposure to elevated
calcium and/or phosphate. In contrast, vessel rings from patients with CKD accumulated …