Risk of dissection in thoracic aneurysms associated with mutations of smooth muscle alpha-actin 2 (ACTA2)

Heart ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Disabella ◽  
M. Grasso ◽  
F. I. Gambarin ◽  
N. Narula ◽  
R. Dore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Alpha Actin ◽  
Thoracic Aneurysms ◽  
Alpha Actin

scholarly journals Sequential activation of alpha-actin genes during avian cardiogenesis: vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin gene transcripts mark the onset of cardiomyocyte differentiation.

1988 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 2575-2586 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Ruzicka ◽  
R J Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Vascular Smooth Muscle ◽  
Cardiac Cells ◽  
Actin Gene ◽  
Heart Tube ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Actin Genes ◽  
Beta Actin ◽  
Smooth Muscle Alpha Actin ◽  
Alpha Actin

The expression of cytoplasmic beta-actin and cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle alpha-actins during early avian cardiogenesis was analyzed by in situ hybridization with mRNA-specific single-stranded DNA probes. The cytoplasmic beta-actin gene was ubiquitously expressed in the early chicken embryo. In contrast, the alpha-actin genes were sequentially activated in avian cardiac tissue during the early stages of heart tube formation. The accumulation of large quantities of smooth muscle alpha-actin transcripts in epimyocardial cells preceded the expression of the sarcomeric alpha-actin genes. The accumulation of skeletal alpha-actin mRNAs in the developing heart lagged behind that of cardiac alpha-actin by several embryonic stages. At Hamburger-Hamilton stage 12, the smooth muscle alpha-actin gene was selectively down-regulated in the heart such that only the conus, which subsequently participates in the formation of the vascular trunks, continued to express this gene. This modulation in smooth muscle alpha-actin gene expression correlated with the beginning of coexpression of sarcomeric alpha-actin transcripts in the epimyocardium and the onset of circulation in the embryo. The specific expression of the vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin gene marks the onset of differentiation of cardiac cells and represents the first demonstration of coexpression of both smooth muscle and striated alpha-actin genes within myogenic cells.

Smooth muscle alpha-actin is a marker for hair follicle dermis in vivo and in vitro

1991 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Jahoda ◽  
A.J. Reynolds ◽  
C. Chaponnier ◽  
J.C. Forester ◽  
G. Gabbiani
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Hair Follicle ◽  
Dermal Papilla ◽  
Hair Follicles ◽  
Dermal Papilla Cells ◽  
Smooth Muscle Alpha Actin ◽  
Actin Expression ◽  
Alpha Actin ◽  
Sheath Cells

We have examined the expression of smooth muscle alpha-actin in hair follicles in situ, and in hair follicle dermal cells in culture by means of immunohistochemistry. Smooth muscle alpha-actin was present in the dermal sheath component of rat vibrissa, rat pelage and human follicles. Dermal papilla cells within all types of follicles did not express the antigen. However, in culture a large percentage of both hair dermal papilla and dermal sheath cells were stained by this antibody. The same cells were negative when tested with an antibody to desmin. Overall, explant-derived skin fibroblasts had relatively low numbers of positively marked cells, but those from skin regions of high hair-follicle density displayed more smooth muscle alpha-actin expression than fibroblasts from areas with fewer follicles. 2-D SDS-PAGE confirmed that, unlike fibroblasts, cultured papilla cells contained significant quantities of the alpha-actin isoform. The rapid switching on of smooth muscle alpha-actin expression by dermal papilla cells in early culture, contrasts with the behaviour of smooth muscle cells in vitro, and has implications for control of expression of the antigen in normal adult systems. The very high percentage of positively marked cultured papilla and sheath cells also provides a novel marker of cells from follicle dermis, and reinforces the idea that they represent a specialized cell population, contributing to the heterogeneity of fibroblast cell types in the skin dermis, and possibly acting as a source of myofibroblasts during wound healing.

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