scholarly journals Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) promotes the phenotypic switch of smooth muscle cells in atherosclerotic plaques of human coronary arteries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weronika Karle ◽  
Samuel Becker ◽  
Philipp Stenzel ◽  
Christoph Knosalla ◽  
Günter Siegel ◽  
...  

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is a constitutive component of PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which function as stress-regulated SUMOylation factories. Since PML can also act as a regulator of the inflammatory and fibroproliferative responses characteristic of atherosclerosis, we investigated whether PML is implicated in this disease. Immunoblotting, ELISA and immunohistochemistry showed a strong up-regulation of PML in segments of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries compared to non-atherosclerotic ones. In particular, PML was concentrated in PML-NBs from alpha-smooth muscle actin-immunoreactive cells in plaque areas. To identify possible functional consequences of PML-accumulation in this cell-type, differentiated human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (dHCASMCs) were transfected with a vector containing the intact PML-gene. These PML-transfected HCASMCs showed higher levels of SUMO-1-dependent SUMOylated proteins, but lower levels of markers for smooth muscle cell differentiation and revealed more proliferation and migration activities than dHCASMCs transfected with the vector lacking a specific gene insert or with the vector containing a mutated PML-gene coding for a PML-form without SUMOylation activity. When dHCASMCs were incubated with different cytokines, higher PML-levels were observed only after IFN-γ stimulation, while the expression of differentiation markers decreased. However, these phenotypic changes were not observed in dHCASMCs treated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppressing PML-expression prior to IFN-γ stimulation. Taken together, our results imply that PML is a previously unknown functional factor in the molecular cascades associated with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and is positioned in vascular smooth muscle cells between up-stream IFN-γ activation and downstream SUMOylation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1130
Author(s):  
Chih-Wei Chiu ◽  
Chih-Hao Yang ◽  
Jie-Heng Tsai ◽  
Cheng-Ying Hsieh ◽  
Shih-Yi Huang

Inflammation of the arterial wall is critical to atherosclerosis pathogenesis. The switch of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to macrophage-like cells is essential in the exacerbation of vascular inflammation. Platonin, a cyanine photosensitizing dye, exhibits protective effects in sepsis, trauma, and acute ischemic stroke through its anti-inflammatory capacity in macrophages. The present study investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of platonin in inflammatory VSMCs. Pretreatment with platonin suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthetase and mature interleukin-1β but not that of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in VSMCs stimulated by a combination of lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ (LPS/IFN-γ). Furthermore, platonin inhibited LPS/IFN-γ-induced Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) activation though the direct reduction of p65Ser536 phosphorylation but not the restoration of Inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (IκBα) degradation in VSMCs. However, platonin inhibited Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced MCP-1 production, possibly through the attenuation of Activator protein 1 (AP-1) binding activity and C-Jun N-terminal kinases ½ (JNK1/2) phosphorylation. Platonin also lowered lipid drop accumulation in VSMCs in Oil red O staining assay. The results collectively indicated that platonin has a vascular protective property with potent anti-inflammatory effects in VSMCs. In conclusion, platonin should be a potential for treating vascular inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.


Author(s):  
MICHAEL K. DAME ◽  
XINWEN YU ◽  
ROSARIO GARRIDO ◽  
WALTER BOBROWSKI ◽  
J. ERIC MCDUFFIE ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Lei Cao ◽  
Cang-Bao Xu ◽  
Jun-Jie Wang ◽  
Yong-Xiao Cao

Minimally modified low-density lipoprotein (mmLDL) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The present study investigated the effects of mmLDL on the expression of endothelin type A () receptors in coronary arteries. Rat coronary arteries were organ-cultured for 24 h. The contractile responses were recorded using a myographic system. receptor mRNA and protein expressions were determined using real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. The results showed that organ-culturing in the presence of mmLDL enhanced the arterial contractility mediated by the receptor in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Culturing with mmLDL (10 μg/mL) for 24 h shifted the concentration-contractile curves toward the left significantly with increased of from control of and significantly increased receptor mRNA and protein levels. Inhibition of the protein kinase C, extracellular signal-related kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), or NF-κB activities significantly attenuated the effects of mmLDL. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitor or the p38 pathway inhibitor, however, had no such effects. The results indicate that mmLDL upregulates the receptors in rat coronary arterial smooth muscle cells mainlyviaactivating protein kinase C, ERK1/2, and the downstream transcriptional factor, NF-κB.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (1) ◽  
pp. C248-C256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Hua Wei ◽  
Aaron T. Jacobs ◽  
Sidney M. Morris ◽  
Louis J. Ignarro

The objectives of this study were to determine whether rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMC) express arginase and to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved in the regulation of arginase expression. The results show that RASMC contain basal arginase I (AI) activity, which is significantly enhanced by stimulating the cells with either interleukin (IL)-4 or IL-13, but arginase II (AII) expression was not detected under any condition studied here. We further investigated the signal transduction pathways responsible for AI induction. AI mRNA and protein levels were enhanced by addition of forskolin (1 μM) and inhibited by H-89 (30 μM), suggesting positive regulation of AI by a protein kinase A pathway. Genistein (10 μg/ml) and sodium orthovanadate (Na3VO4; 10 μM) were used to investigate the role of tyrosine phosphorylation in the control of AI expression. Genistein inhibited, whereas Na3VO4enhanced the induction of AI by IL-4 or IL-13. Along with immunoprecipitation and immunoblot analyses, these data implicate the JAK/STAT6 pathway in AI regulation. Dexamethasone (Dex) and interferon (IFN)-γ were investigated for their effects on AI induction. Dex (1 μM) and IFN-γ (100 U/ml) alone had no effect on basal AI expression in RASMC, but both reduced AI induction by IL-4 and IL-13. In combination, Dex and IFN-γ abolished AI induction by IL-4 and IL-13. Finally, both IL-4 and IL-13 significantly increased RASMC DNA synthesis as monitored by [3H]thymidine incorporation, demonstrating that upregulation of AI is correlated with an increase in cell proliferation. Blockade of AI induction by IFN-γ, H-89, or genistein also blocked the increase in cell proliferation. These observations are consistent with the possibility that upregulation of AI might play an important role in the pathophysiology of vascular disorders characterized by excessive smooth muscle growth.


2007 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isao Ito ◽  
Johanne D. Laporte ◽  
Pierre O. Fiset ◽  
Kazuhisa Asai ◽  
Yasuhiro Yamauchi ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (2) ◽  
pp. H134-H142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Shukla ◽  
Srinivas Ghatta ◽  
Nidhi Dubey ◽  
Caleb O. Lemley ◽  
Mary Lynn Johnson ◽  
...  

The mechanisms underlying developmental programming are poorly understood but may be associated with adaptations by the fetus in response to changes in the maternal environment during pregnancy. We hypothesized that maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy alters vasodilator responses in fetal coronary arteries. Pregnant ewes were fed a control [100% U.S. National Research Council (NRC)] or nutrient-restricted (60% NRC) diet from days 50 to 130 of gestation (term = 145 days); fetal tissues were collected at day 130. In coronary arteries isolated from control fetal lambs, relaxation to bradykinin was unaffected by nitro-l-arginine (NLA). Iberiotoxin or contraction with KCl abolished the NLA-resistant response to bradykinin. In fetal coronary arteries from nutrient-restricted ewes, relaxation to bradykinin was fully suppressed by NLA. Large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium channel (BKCa) currents did not differ in coronary smooth muscle cells from control and nutrient-restricted animals. The BKCa openers, BMS 191011 and NS1619, and 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid [a putative endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)] each caused fetal coronary artery relaxation and BKCa current activation that was unaffected by maternal nutrient restriction. Expression of BKCa-channel subunits did not differ in fetal coronary arteries from control or undernourished ewes. The results indicate that maternal undernutrition during pregnancy results in loss of the EDHF-like pathway in fetal coronary arteries in response to bradykinin, an effect that cannot be explained by a decreased number or activity of BKCa channels or by decreased sensitivity to mediators that activate BKCa channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. Under these conditions, bradykinin-induced relaxation is completely dependent on nitric oxide, which may represent an adaptive response to compensate for the absence of the EDHF-like pathway.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (5) ◽  
pp. H1656-H1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Campbell ◽  
Christine Deeter ◽  
Kathryn M. Gauthier ◽  
Richard H. Ingraham ◽  
J. R. Falck ◽  
...  

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) cause vascular relaxation by activating smooth muscle large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channels. EETs are metabolized to dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs) by epoxide hydrolase. We examined the contribution of 14,15-DHET to 14,15-EET-induced relaxations and characterized its mechanism of action. 14,15-DHET relaxed U-46619-precontracted bovine coronary artery rings but was approximately fivefold less potent than 14,15-EET. The relaxations were inhibited by charybdotoxin, iberiotoxin, and increasing extracellular K+ to 20 mM. In isolated smooth muscle cells, 14,15-DHET increased an iberiotoxin-sensitive, outward K+ current and increased KCa channel activity in cell-attached patches and inside-out patches only when GTP was present. 14,15-[14C]EET methyl ester (Me) was converted to 14,15-[14C]DHET-Me, 14,15-[14C]DHET, and 14,15-[14C]EET by coronary arterial rings and endothelial cells but not by smooth muscle cells. The metabolism to 14,15-DHET was inhibited by the epoxide hydrolase inhibitors 4-phenylchalcone oxide (4-PCO) and BIRD-0826. Neither inhibitor altered relaxations to acetylcholine, whereas relaxations to 14,15-EET-Me were increased slightly by BIRD-0826 but not by 4-PCO. 14,15-DHET relaxes coronary arteries through activation of KCa channels. Endothelial cells, but not smooth muscle cells, convert EETs to DHETs, and this conversion results in a loss of vasodilator activity.


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