Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are a regulatory cellular component of blood vessels and other hollow organs, playing critical roles in regulating vascular tone, blood pressure, and organ function. To understand the physiology and pathology of SMCs in cardiovascular research, researchers use various markers that help identify and characterize these cells. These markers aid in understanding SMC heterogeneity and their roles in health and disease. Smooth Muscle α-Actin (SMA) is a hallmark marker of differentiated SMCs, although it can also be expressed in other selected cells such as myofibroblasts and pericytes under some conditions. It is a contractile protein found in the cytoskeleton of smooth muscle cells and is crucial for mediating muscle contraction. SMA is widely used to identify and quantify smooth muscle cells in blood vessels and other tissues. Calponin is another contractile protein expressed in smooth muscle cells. It plays a role in modulating muscle contraction by interacting with actin and inhibiting myosin-ATPase activity. Smooth Muscle Myosin Heavy Chain (SMMHC) is a motor protein that forms the thick filaments in smooth muscle sarcomeres. It is involved in the force generation occurring during muscle contraction. Different isoforms of SMMHC are expressed in various types of smooth muscles, making it a useful marker for SMC subtype identification. Caldesmon is an actin-binding protein that regulates the interaction between actin and myosin, influencing muscle contraction. It exists in multiple isoforms, including high- and low-molecular-weight forms. Caldesmon expression is commonly associated with differentiated SMCs. H-Caldesmon is a variant of caldesmon that is specifically expressed in smooth muscle cells. It has been found to be involved in maintaining vascular contractile function and is considered a specific marker for vascular SMCs. Smoothelin is a protein expressed in differentiated SMCs and is involved in modulating smooth muscle contractility. It is used as a marker for mature and contractile smooth muscle cells. Other commonly used markers for smooth muscle cells include: 1) Desmin, an intermediate filament protein that provides structural support to cells. It is expressed in various types of muscle cells, including smooth muscle cells. Desmin is often used to identify SMCs, particularly in pathological conditions; 2) Smooth Muscle 22α (SM22α), a protein that is highly expressed in SMCs. It is involved in regulating actin dynamics and contributes to maintaining smooth muscle contractility. SM22α, is commonly used to identify differentiated SMCs; 3) Transgelin (SM22β), is expressed in SMCs and plays a role in regulating actin filament assembly and smooth muscle contractility; 4) Myocardin, a transcription factor that drives the expression of SMC-specific contractile genes. It plays a critical role in SMC differentiation and is used as a marker for studying the molecular mechanisms of SMC development. We provide a comprehensive product catalogue of research tools for studying smooth muscle cell markers, including alpha smooth muscle Actin antibodies, and Calponin antibodies. Explore our full smooth muscle cell markers product range below and discover more, for less.