scholarly journals Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin-Positive Perivascular Cells in Diabetic Retina and Choroid

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Jin Kim ◽  
Sang A. Kim ◽  
Yeong A. Choi ◽  
Do Young Park ◽  
Junyeop Lee
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Diabetic Mice ◽  
Mural Cells ◽  
Retinal Capillaries

Structural alterations of pericytes in microvessels are important features of diabetic retinopathy. Although capillary pericytes had been known not to have α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), a recent study revealed that a specific fixation method enabled the visualization of αSMA along retinal capillaries. In this study, we applied snap-fixation in wild type and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice to evaluate the differences in vascular smooth muscle cells of the retina and the choroid. Mice eyeballs were fixed in ice-cold methanol to prevent the depolymerization of filamentous actin. Snap-fixated retina showed αSMA expression in higher-order branches along the capillaries as well as the arterioles and venules, which were not detected by paraformaldehyde fixation. In contrast, most choriocapillaris, except those close to the arterioles, were not covered with αSMA-positive perivascular mural cells. Large choroidal vessels were covered with more αSMA-positive cells in the snap-fixated eyes. Diabetes induced less coverage of αSMA-positive perivascular mural cells overall, but they reached higher-order branches of the retinal capillaries, which was prominent in the aged mice. More αSMA-positive pericytes were observed in the choroid of diabetic mice, but the αSMA-positive expression reduced with aging. This study suggests the potential role of smooth muscle cells in the pathogenesis of age-related diabetic retinopathy and choroidopathy.

scholarly journals An α-Smooth Muscle Actin (acta2/αsma) Zebrafish Transgenic Line Marking Vascular Mural Cells and Visceral Smooth Muscle Cells

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e90590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Whitesell ◽  
Regan M. Kennedy ◽  
Alyson D. Carter ◽  
Evvi-Lynn Rollins ◽  
Sonja Georgijevic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Transgenic Line ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Mural Cells ◽  
Visceral Smooth Muscle

Leiomyomatous hamartoma of the incisive papilla

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Corrêa ◽  
Mônica Lotufo ◽  
Marília Trierveiler Martins ◽  
Norberto Sugaya ◽  
Suzana Cantanhede Orsini Machado de Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Immunohistochemical Staining ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Histological Diagnosis ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Histological Findings ◽  
Spindle Cells ◽  
Congenital Epulis

A case of unusual hamartoma in a six-year-old otherwise healthy Brazilian girl is reported, with emphasis on histological and immunohistochemical features. A mass observed in the incisive papilla was detected whose appearance was similar to congenital epulis or fibroma. Histological findings showed interlacing fascicles of large spindle cells resembling smooth muscle cells. Immunohistochemical staining for desmin and for smooth-muscle actin was positive. The histological diagnosis was leiomyomatous hamartoma, based on clinical and microscopic observations.

scholarly journals Organizational Hierarchy and Structural Diversity of Microvascular Pericytes in Adult Mouse Cortex

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger I. Grant ◽  
David A. Hartmann ◽  
Robert G. Underly ◽  
Andrée-Anne Berthiaume ◽  
Narayan R. Bhat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Mural Cell ◽  
Mural Cells ◽  
Mouse Cortex ◽  
Transitional Cells ◽  
Brain Microvasculature

ABSTRACTSmooth muscle cells and pericytes, together called mural cells, coordinate many distinct vascular functions. Smooth muscle cells are ring-shaped and cover arterioles with circumferential processes, whereas pericytes extend thin processes that run longitudinally along capillaries. In between these canonical mural cell types are cells with mixed phenotype of both smooth muscle cells and pericytes. Recent studies suggest that these transitional cells are critical for controlling blood flow to the capillary bed during health and disease, but there remains confusion on how to identify them and where they are located in the brain microvasculature. To address this issue, we measured the morphology, vascular territory, and α-smooth muscle actin content of structurally diverse mural cells in adult mouse cortex. We first imaged intact 3-D vascular networks to establish the locations of major gradations in mural cell appearance as arterioles branched into capillaries. We then imaged individual mural cells occupying the regions within these gradations. This revealed two transitional cells that were often similar in appearance, but with sharply contrasting levels of α-smooth muscle actin. Our findings highlight the diversity of mural cell morphologies in brain microvasculature, and provide guidance for identification and categorization of mural cell types.

scholarly journals Expression of PDGF alpha-receptor in renal arteriosclerosis and rejecting renal transplants.

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Floege ◽  
K L Hudkins ◽  
C L Davis ◽  
S M Schwartz ◽  
C E Alpers
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Renal Disease ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Alpha Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Mature Adult ◽  
Receptor Mrna

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) plays an important role in renal disease. We have recently demonstrated that in healthy mature human kidney, PDGF alpha-receptor expression is largely restricted to interstitial cells. The study presented here assesses the expression of PDGF alpha-receptor in 18 mature adult kidneys with arteriosclerosis from individuals with no clinically evident history of renal disease other than localized neoplasia, in 13 kidneys with irreversible transplant rejection, and in a series of renal transplant biopsies composed of examples of both severe and absent rejection, by in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. Strong focal or diffuse expression of PDGF alpha-receptor mRNA and protein was noted in some intimal cells of intrarenal arterial vessels exhibiting signs of arteriosclerosis and/or vascular rejection. By double immunostaining, it could be shown that these cells were neither endothelial cells nor infiltrating leukocytes. The cells were most often identified as smooth muscle by colabeling for the smooth muscle cell-specific protein SM22alpha and less commonly for alpha-smooth muscle actin. There was also a population of PDGF alpha-receptor-expressing cells that failed to colabel with any of these markers, and hence remain of uncertain histogenesis. These intimal cells were generally negative for several other markers of differentiated smooth muscle cells, i.e., calponin and desmin. Near these PDGF alpha-receptor-positive intimal cells, expression of PDGF A-chain, an alpha-receptor ligand, was demonstrated in endothelial, intimal, and/or medial cells. Prominent PDGF alpha-receptor mRNA and protein expression also was noted in areas of interstitial fibrosis and in some glomeruli, in particular those with segmental glomerulosclerosis or fibrotic crescents. Double immunolabeling for PDGF alpha-receptor and alpha-smooth muscle actin confirmed that most of these latter PDGF alpha-receptor-positive cells were interstitial myofibroblasts or mesangial cells, or both. In summary, these data demonstrate widespread expression of PDGF alpha-receptor in renal cell types involved in fibrotic and sclerosing processes. The data also show that PDGF alpha-receptor expression identifies a unique population of phenotypically altered vascular smooth muscle cells, which appear to be involved in the vascular response to injury.

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