© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Vascular Biology |
Cultured Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells Maintain Distinct Phenotypes When Implanted Into Carotid Artery
From the Department of Pathology (M.-L.B.-P., M.R., F.G., G.G.), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, and the Department of Surgery (A.W.C., M.W.C., J.W.F.), University of Washington, Seattle.
Correspondence to Prof Giulio Gabbiani, Department of Pathology, CMU, 1, rue Michel-Servet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. E-mail Giulio.Gabbiani{at}medecine.unige.ch
Abstract—Cultured
arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) with distinct
phenotypic features have been described by several laboratories;
however, it is not presently known whether this phenotypic
heterogeneity can be maintained within an in vivo
environment. To answer this question, we have seeded into the intima of
denuded rat carotid artery 2 SMC populations with well-established
distinct biological features, ie, spindle-shaped, not growing in the
absence of serum, and well differentiated versus epithelioid, growing
in the absence of serum, and relatively undifferentiated, derived from
the aortic media of newborn rats (aged 4 days) and old rats (aged >18
months), respectively. We show that these 2 populations maintain their
distinct biochemical features (ie, expression of 
-smooth muscle
actin, smooth muscle myosin heavy chains, and cellular retinol binding
protein-1) in the in vivo environment. The old rat media–derived SMCs
continue to produce cellular retinol binding protein-1 but little
-smooth muscle actin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chains, whereas
the newborn rat media–derived SMCs continue to express -smooth
muscle actin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chains but no cellular
retinol binding protein-1. Our results reinforce the notion of
arterial SMC phenotypic heterogeneity and
suggest that in our model, heterogeneity is controlled
genetically and not by the local
environment.
Key Words: -smooth muscle actin • smooth muscle myosin • restenosis • intimal thickening • atherosclerosis
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