scholarly journals Evidence for an age-related dysfunction in the antiproliferative response to transforming growth factor-beta in vascular smooth muscle cells.

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
T A McCaffrey ◽  
D J Falcone

Previous studies have indicated that aged animals show an increased intimal hyperplasia after arterial injury. The present studies examined the hypothesis that the increased serum-free proliferation of aged smooth muscle cells (SMC), in vitro, was due to a loss of an antiproliferative signal, such as transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1). Northern blot analysis of the mRNA derived from old (> 19 mo) or young (3-4 mo) rat aortic SMC indicated that both groups had an equivalent level of the 2.5 kB TGF-beta 1 message. Metabolic labeling with 35S-methionine and immunoprecipitation for TGF-beta 1 confirmed the de novo synthesis of TGF-beta 1 in rat SMC. Old and young SMC supernatants showed equal levels of active or latent (acid-activated) TGF-beta activity. Despite the similarities in the production of TGF-beta 1, old SMC were refractory to inhibition by TGF-beta 1, whereas young SMC were markedly inhibited (80%) by low levels of TGF-beta 1 (IC50 < 5 pg/ml). Binding studies at 4 degrees C indicated that old SMC exhibited reduced binding capacity for 125I-TGF-beta 1. Cross-linking studies confirmed that old SMC showed reduced binding of 125I-TGF-beta 1 to membrane sites corresponding to the high molecular weight type III receptor, as well as the 85-kDa type II and 65-kDa type I receptor. However, at 37 degrees C, old SMC degraded 125I-TGF-beta 1 more rapidly than young SMC. Combined, this data suggests that SMC derived from older animals are capable of normal production of TGF-beta 1 but fail to respond to the autocrine growth inhibitory effects of this agent, thereby leading to enhanced proliferation.

1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Sato ◽  
D B Rifkin

When a confluent monolayer of bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells is wounded with a razor blade, endothelial cells (ECs) spontaneously move into the denuded area. If bovine pericytes or smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are plated into the denuded area at low density, they block the movement of the ECs. This effect is dependent upon the number of cells plated into the wound area and contact between ECs and the plated cells. Antibodies to transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) abrogate the inhibition of BAE cell movement by pericytes or SMCs. TGF-beta 1, if added to wounded BAE cell monolayers, also inhibits cell movement. When cultured separately, BAE cells, pericytes, and SMCs each produce an inactive TGF-beta 1-like molecule which is activated in BAE cell-pericyte or BAE cell-SMC co-cultures. The activation appears to be mediated by plasmin as the inhibitory effect on cell movement in co-cultures of BAE cells and pericytes is blocked by the inclusion of inhibitors of plasmin in the culture medium.


1993 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 995-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Flaumenhaft ◽  
M Abe ◽  
Y Sato ◽  
K Miyazono ◽  
J Harpel ◽  
...  

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is released from cells in a latent form consisting of the mature growth factor associated with an aminoterminal propeptide and latent TGF-beta binding protein (LTBP). The endogenous activation of latent TGF-beta has been described in co-cultures of endothelial and smooth muscle cells. However, the mechanism of this activation remains unknown. Antibodies to native platelet LTBP and to a peptide fragment of LTBP inhibit in a dose-dependent manner the activation of latent TGF-beta normally observed when endothelial cells are cocultured with smooth muscle cells. Inhibition of latent TGF-beta activation was also observed when cells were co-cultured in the presence of an excess of free LTBP. These data represent the first demonstration of a function for the LTBP in the extracellular regulation of TGF-beta activity and indicate that LTBP participates in the activation of latent TGF-beta, perhaps by concentrating the latent growth factor on the cell surface where activation occurs.


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