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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2001;21:1118.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Vascular Biology

Phenotypic Heterogeneity Influences Apoptotic Susceptibility to Retinoic Acid and cis-Platinum of Rat Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells In Vitro

Implications for the Evolution of Experimental Intimal Thickening

Augusto Orlandi; Arianna Francesconi; Domenico Cocchia; Alberto Corsini; Luigi Giusto Spagnoli

From the Institute of Anatomic Pathology, Tor Vergata University of Rome (A.O., A.F., D.C., L.G.S.), and Institute of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan (A.C.), Italy.

Abstract—Rat aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) cultured from intimal thickening 15 days after endothelial injury (IT-15), unlike those of normal media, show a monolayered, epithelioid phenotype and high levels of cellular retinol binding protein-1 (CRBP). Epithelioid clones obtained from the normal media suggest a "mosaicism" of arterial SMCs. Intimal cell homeostasis from the balance of proliferation and apoptosis is critical for the progression of vascular lesions. All-trans retinoic acid (tRA) reduced [³H]thymidine incorporation and G₁S phase progression of IT-15 and epithelioid clone but not of normal media and IT 60 days after injury (IT-60) SMCs. Hoechst staining, flow cytometry, and ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction showed an increased susceptibility of IT-15 and epithelioid clone to tRA and cis-diaminedichloroplatinum II (CDDP)–induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity compared with normal media and IT-60 cells. The latter retained an increased susceptibility to tRA-induced apoptosis compared with normal media SMCs. tRA-induced apoptosis associated with an increased ratio of bax to bcl-2 by bax overexpression and cleavage of caspase-3. Anti-CRBP but not anti-IgG antibody prevented tRA-induced apoptosis and changes in related signaling molecules but not CDDP effects. Our findings support the relevant role of phenotypic heterogeneity in the determining proliferative as well as apoptotic behavior of arterial SMCs.

Key Words: atheromatosis • restenosis • flow cytometry • all-trans retinoic acid • cis-platinum

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