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Figure 3. Cell-type-specific effects of YAP/TAZ in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages within the context of a diseased vessel wall. (A) In endothelial cells, YAP/TAZ activation promotes leukocyte adhesion, barrier dysfunction, and EndMT-mediated vascular remodeling; (B) In vascular smooth muscle cells, YAP/TAZ maintain the contractile phenotype under homeostatic conditions but contribute to proliferation, phenotypic switching, calcification, and pulmonary hypertension in a context-dependent manner; (C) In macrophages, YAP/TAZ regulate inflammatory polarization, monocyte recruitment, immune evasion, and vascular remodeling in response to mechanical and inflammatory signals. Created in BioRender. Liu Y (2026) https://BioRender.com/jw33kg0. YAP: Yes-associated protein; TAZ: transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif; TEAD: TEA domain; ECM: enabling extracellular matrix; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha; EndMT: endothelial-mesenchymal transition; SMAD3: SMAD family member 3; VCAM-1: vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; ICAM-1: intercellular adhesion molecule-1; GNAI2: G protein subunit alpha i2; CXCR5: C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5; BACH1: BTB and CNC homology 1; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β; TSP-1: thrombospondin-1; OTUB2: OTU deubiquitinase 2; PFKFB3: 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3; ILK1: integrin-linked kinase 1; CCL2: C-C motif chemokine ligand 2; IL-6: interleukin-6; cAMP: cyclic adenosine monophosphate; oxLDL: oxidized low-density lipoprotein; mTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin; Akt: protein kinase B; DVL3: dishevelled segment polarity protein 3; CTGF: connective tissue growth factor; FN: fibronectin; MMPs: matrix metalloproteinases; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; GSDMD: gasdermin D; mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA; cGAS: cyclic GMP-AMP synthase; STING: stimulator of interferon genes; HDAC3: histone deacetylase 3; NCoR1: nuclear receptor corepressor 1; LATS1: large tumor suppressor kinase 1; TSC2: tuberous sclerosis complex 2; CaMKII: Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II; Arg1: arginase 1; PVAT: perivascular adipose tissue; PAH: pulmonary arterial hypertension; PATJ: Pals1-associated tight junction protein.