Toxicity of substrate-bound amyloid peptides on vascular smooth muscle cells is enhanced by homocysteine.

Tauhe main component of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in Alzheimer's disease is the amyloid-beta protein (Abeta), a 4-kDa polypeptide derived from the beta-amyloid protein precursor (APP). The accumulation of Abeta in the basement membrane has been implicated in the degeneration of adjacent vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). However, the mechanism of Abeta toxicity is still unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of substrate-bound Abeta on VSMC in culture. The use of substrate-bound proteins in cell culture mimics presentation of the proteins to cells as if bound to the basement membrane. Substrate-bound Abeta peptides were found to be toxic to the cells and to increase the rate of cell death. This toxicity was dependent on the length of time the peptide was allowed to 'age', a process by which Abeta is induced to aggregate over several hours to days. Oxidative stress via hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) release was not involved in the toxic effect, as no decrease in toxicity was observed in the presence of catalase. However, substrate-bound Abeta significantly reduced cell adhesion compared to cells grown on plastic alone, indicating that cell-substrate adhesion may be important in maintaining cell viability. Abeta also caused an increase in the number of apoptotic cells. This increase in apoptosis was accompanied by activation of caspase-3. Homocysteine, a known risk factor for cerebrovascular disease, increased Abeta-induced toxicity and caspase-3 activation in a dose-dependent manner. These studies suggest that Abeta may activate apoptotic pathways to cause loss of VSMC in CAA by inhibiting cell-substrate interactions. Our studies also suggest that homocysteine, a known risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases, could also be a risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke associated with CAA.     

Effects of cholesterol oxidase on cultured vascular smooth muscle cells

Summary Cholesterol oxidase (3-hydroxy-steroid oxidase) catalyzes the oxidation of cholesterol to 4-cholesten-3 one and other oxidized cholesterol derivatives. The purpose of the present study was to investigate its effects on cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. Cultured rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells were morphologically altered after exposure to cholesterol oxidase in the presence of culture medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. If fetal calf serum was absent, cells were unaffected by the treatment. The extent of morphological change of the smooth muscle cells was dependent upon the time of exposure to the enzyme and the concentration of cholesterol oxidase employed. After moderate treatment with cholesterol oxidase, cells excluded trypan blue. Further, a specific mitochondrial marker DASPMI (dimethyl aminostyryl-methyl-pyridiniumiodine) which was used as a fluorescent index of cell viability, revealed that cell viability was unchanged after moderate cholesterol oxidase treatment. Nile red, a hydrophobic probe which selectively stains intracellular lipid droplets, was applied to detect the cellular lipid content after treatment with cholesterol oxidase. Cellular nile red fluorescence intensity increased linearly with the time and concentration of cholesterol oxidase treatment. These results demonstrate that cholesterol oxidase alters lipid deposition in the cell and changes cell morphology. The primary site of action of cholesterol oxidase appears to be independent of the cell membrane itself and instead is dependent upon the lipid content in the surrounding culture media. These changes occur prior to the cytotoxic effects of extensive oxidation. Because oxidized cholesterol may play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, our results have implications for intracellular accumulation of lipids in smooth muscle cells during the atherosclerotic lesion.     

Oxidative stress leads to cholesterol accumulation in vascular smooth muscle cells.

The transformation of macrophages and smooth muscle cells into foam cells by modified low-density lipoproteins (LDL) is one of the key events of atherogenesis. Effects of free radicals have mainly been studied in LDL, and other than toxicity, data dealing with direct action of free radicals on cells are scarce. This study focused on the direct effects of free radicals on cholesterol metabolism of smooth muscle cells. A free radical generator, azobis-amidinopropane dihydrochloride, was used, and conditions for a standardized oxidative stress were set up in vascular smooth muscle cells. After free radical action, the cells presented an accumulation of cholesterol that appeared to be the result of: (i) an increase in cholesterol biosynthesis and esterification; (ii) a decrease in cell cholesteryl ester hydrolysis; and (iii) a reduced cholesterol efflux. All these parameters were opposed by antioxidants. In addition, oxidant stress induced an increased degradation of acetyl-LDL, whereas no change was noted for native LDL. From this data, it was concluded that cholesterol metabolism of vascular smooth muscle cells was markedly altered by in vitro treatment with free radicals, although cell viability was unaffected. The resulting disturbance in cholesterol metabolism favors accumulation of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters in vascular cells, and thus may contribute to the formation of smooth muscle foam cells.     

NADPH氧化酶活性不影响主动脉平滑肌细胞负荷胆固醇

NADPH氧化酶产生的活性氧促进血管平滑肌细胞的增殖和迁移,与动脉粥样硬化的发生密切相关.为了观察NADPH氧化酶的亚基p47phox对血管平滑肌细胞胆固醇代谢的影响,把p47phox基因敲除小鼠的主动脉血管平滑肌细胞与10 mg/L水溶性胆固醇共孵育72 h,然后用0.3 mg/L凝血酶处理10 min,采用免疫组织化学和油红O染色、实时定量逆转录PCR、免疫蛋白印迹、细胞内胆固醇测定等方法,观察细胞内胆固醇的改变,与平滑肌细胞、巨噬细胞、炎症反应细胞内胆固醇代谢相关蛋白的表达.结果显示,与未孵育的对照组相比,水溶性胆固醇孵育过的主动脉血管平滑肌细胞内胆固醇明显增加,差别有显著性意义:细胞内中性脂滴明显增加;α-肌动蛋白的表达下降,半乳糖凝集素3表达升高,单核细胞趋化蛋白1及血管细胞黏附分子1的表达不变;ATP结合盒转运体A1、酰基辅酶A:胆固醇酰基转移酶1及脂肪分化相关蛋白的表达增加.但是,与野生型血管平滑肌细胞相比,敲除p47phox基因并不能使所测定的指标发生变化.结果提示,负荷胆固醇后,p47phox依赖的NADPH氧化酶并不能改变血管平滑肌细胞向泡沫细胞的转变.单纯敲除p47phox基因不能改变细胞内胆固醇代谢的状态.     

Molecular pharmacology of isoprostanes in vascular smooth muscle

Isoprostanes are marker of lipid peroxidation and are produced after free-radical attack of membrane lipids. In addition, they are biologically active and are essentially vaso- and broncho-constrictor. Their smooth muscle constrictor actions are closely linked to the activation of the thromboxane A(2) receptor, but also involve a distinct receptor not yet identified. The response of vascular smooth muscle to isoprostanes is subclass-specific (F-series versus E-series isoprostanes) and cell- and species-related. In this review, we will address the vascular actions of isoprostanes and their possible role in vascular physiology and pathophysiology.     

Soluble semicarbazide sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) catalysis induces apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells

Semicarbazide sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) metabolizes oxidative deamination of primary aromatic and aliphatic amines. It is selectively expressed in vascular cells of blood vessels, but it is also circulating in blood plasma. SSAO activity in plasma is increased in some diseases associated with vascular complications and its catalytic products may cause tissue damage. We examined the effect of the oxidation of the SSAO substrate, methylamine, on cultured smooth muscle cells. Cell incubation with methylamine plus soluble SSAO, contained in bovine serum, resulted toxic to rat aorta A7r5 and human aortic smooth muscle cells, as measured by MTT reduction. This effect was completely reverted by specific SSAO inhibitors, indicating that the toxicity was mediated by the end products generated. Moreover, SSAO-mediated deamination of methylamine induced apoptosis in A7r5 cells, detected by chromatin condensation, Caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage and cytochrome c release to cytosol. Formaldehyde, rather than H2O2, resulted to be a strong apoptotic inducer to A7r5 cells. Taken together, the results suggest that increased plasma SSAO activity in pathological conditions, could contribute to apoptosis in smooth muscle cells, leading to vascular tissue damage.     

Evidence for a membrane site of action for 14,15-EET on expression of aromatase in vascular smooth muscle

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are synthesized in the endothelial cells of vascular tissues. They are released from the endothelial cells and produce relaxation of the smooth muscle cells by hyperpolarization. The present findings demonstrate that EETs also regulate aromatase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells. Exposure of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells to either 1 microM 14,15-EET or 1 microM 11,12-EET inhibits dibutyryl cAMP-induced aromatase activity by 80-100%. 11,12-Dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, the hydration product of 11,12-EET, has no effect on dibutyryl cAMP-induced vascular smooth muscle aromatase activity. In contrast to 14,15-EET, the N-methylsulfanilamide derivative of 14,15-EET (14,15-EET-SA) was neither metabolized nor incorporated into cell lipids, but it retained the ability to inhibit cAMP-induced aromatase activity. Furthermore, the 14,15-EET-SA inhibition of cAMP-induced aromatase activity persisted when the sulfanilamide derivative of 14,15-EET was covalently tethered to silica beads (average diameter, 0.5 microm), which restricted 14,15-EET-SA from entering the cell. These data are consistent with the presence of a receptor for EETs in the plasma membrane and support the hypothesis that the inhibition of aromatase by EETs is initiated by the interaction of EET with the putative plasma membrane receptor.     

Anti-atherosclerotic effects of sirolimus on human vascular smooth muscle cells

Sirolimus is a potent immunosuppressive agent and has an anti-atherosclerotic effect through its anti-proliferative property. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of sirolimus on intracellular cholesterol homeostasis in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the presence of inflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta. We explored the effect of sirolimus on the lipid accumulation of VSMCs in the presence of IL-1 beta, using Oil Red O staining and quantitative measurement of intracellular cholesterol. The effect of sirolimus on the gene and protein expression of lipoprotein receptors and ATP binding cassettes (ABCA1 and ABCG1) was examined by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of sirolimus on cholesterol efflux from VSMCs in the presence or absence of IL-1 beta was also investigated using [(3)H] cholesterol efflux. Finally, we examined the effect of sirolimus on the production of inflammatory cytokines in VSMCs using ELISA. Sirolimus reduced intracellular lipid accumulation in VSMCs mediated by IL-1 beta possibly due to the reduction of expression of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptors. Sirolimus increased cholesterol efflux from VSMCs and overrode the suppression of cholesterol efflux induced by IL-1 beta. Sirolimus also increased ABCA1 and ABCG1 genes expression, even in the presence of IL-1 beta. We further confirmed that sirolimus inhibited mRNA and protein expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Inhibition of lipid uptake together with increasing cholesterol efflux and the inhibition of inflammatory cytokines are all important aspects of the anti-atherosclerotic effects of sirolimus on VSMCs.     

Beta-amyloid (Abeta40, Abeta42) binding to modified LDL accelerates macrophage foam cell formation

Apart from its role as a risk factor in arteriosclerosis, plasma cholesterol is increasingly recognized to play a major role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, alterations of intracellular cholesterol metabolism in neuronal and vascular cells are of considerable importance for the understanding of AD. Cellular cholesterol accumulation enhances the deposition of insoluble beta-amyloid peptides, which is considered a hallmark in the pathogenesis of AD. In order to test the hypothesis, whether exogenous beta-amyloid peptides (Abeta42, Abeta40) might contribute to cellular cholesterol accumulation by opsonization of lipoproteins, we compared the binding and uptake of native LDL, enzymatically modified LDL (E-LDL), copper oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) and HDL as control, preincubated either in the absence or presence of Abeta42 or Abeta40, by human monocytes or monocyte-derived macrophages. Incubation of monocytes and macrophages with Abeta-lipoprotein-complexes lead to increased cellular free and esterified cholesterol when compared to non-opsonized lipoproteins, except for HDL. Furthermore, the cellular uptake of these complexes regulated Abeta-receptors such as FPRL-1 or LRP/CD91. In summary, our results suggest that Abeta42 and Abeta40 act as potent opsonins for LDL, E-LDL and Ox-LDL and enhance cellular cholesterol accumulation as well as Abeta-deposition in vessel wall macrophages.     

Alloxan inhibits ligand binding to adrenoceptors of vascular smooth muscle microsomes.

We have examined the effects of alloxan on the binding of [3H]prazosin and [125I]monoiodocyanopindolol (ICYP) to plasma-membrane-enriched microsomes isolated from dog aortas and dog mesenteric arteries respectively. Preincubation of the vascular smooth muscle membranes with alloxan reduced the number of binding sites of the alpha- and beta-adrenoceptors in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas the affinity of the radioligands for the adrenoceptors was not affected by alloxan. Streptozotocin, which is also a diabetogenic agent like alloxan, had no effect on the radioligand binding to these adrenoceptors under similar experimental conditions. The inhibitory effects of alloxan on binding to beta-adrenoceptors were found to be highly pH-dependent. These results indicate that alloxan exerts adverse effects on cell membrane adrenoceptors in addition to those on the ion-transport function of vascular smooth muscle cell [Kwan (1988) Biochem. J. 254, 293-296], and also suggest that the primary site of action of alloxan is the plasma membrane.     

Lipoproteins increase growth of mitogen-stimulated arterial smooth muscle cells

The relationship between lipoproteins and growth of aortic smooth muscle cells has been a matter of controversy. We therefore reexamined this issue using serum-free defined media methodology. By themselves, LDL or HDL (50-500 micrograms/ml) from normolipemic human or bovine plasma produced little or no growth of homologous aortic smooth muscle cells incubated in serum-free medium that was supplemented with insulin and transferrin to maintain cell viability. In fact, LDL prepared in the absence of an antioxidant (BHT) was toxic to these cells. However, in the presence of maximally effective concentrations of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), LDL or HDL consistently increased the growth of homologous smooth muscle cells (up to twofold increased in DNA accumulation in 48 hr). Lipoproteins also augmented the growth response of arterial smooth muscle cells to fibroblast growth factor or epidermal growth factor. The mechanism of this effect was investigated further with HDL, because, in contrast to LDL, HDL apoproteins are water-soluble. Neither HDL delipidated by solvent extraction (apoHDL), purified bovine apoA-I, nor cholesterol added in the form of phospholipid vesicles appreciably increased PDGF-induced growth of bovine smooth muscle cells. However, HDL-like particles reconstituted by sonication of apoHDL with cholesterol and phospholipids did increase the growth of cultures of bovine smooth muscle cells treated with PDGF. Uptake of tritiated thymidine by cultures incubated with partially purified PDGF alone (10 micrograms/ml) was 5,693 +/- 235 dpm/24 hr compared to 10,381 +/- 645 dpm/24 hr (p less than 0.01) in the presence of both PDGF and reconstituted HDL-like particles (250 micrograms protein/ml). Thus both the lipid and protein components of HDL may be necessary for optimal potentiation of growth of mitogen-stimulated cells. These results indicate that lipoproteins from normolipemic sera are not bona fide growth factors but can potentiate the growth of mitogen-stimulated cells, perhaps by supplying exogenous cholesterol required for membrane biogenesis. This finding might be important in arterial injury when the release of PDGF and exposure to plasma lipoproteins could act in concert to stimulate the proliferation of smooth muscle cells.     

Effect of TNF on triacylglycerol in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells

Smooth muscle cells (SMC) isolated from bovine aorta or human saphenous vein were cultured and used to study the putative effect of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on lipid metabolism in vascular cells. Addition of TNF to the culture medium for 24-48 h resulted in an increase of [3H]oleic acid uptake and esterification into lipids. The effect could be seen already with 0.3 ng/ml and was maximal with 30 ng/ml. The effect of TNF was mainly on the incorporation of [3H]oleic acid into triacylglycerol which increased by 140% in the bovine cells. There was also a significant increase in [3H]cholesteryl ester. In the human SMC there was a 40% increase in [3H]oleic acid into total lipids, while the rise in [3H]triacylglycerol ranged between 60-90%. TNF did not modulate cellular triacyglycerol synthesis in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages. Since TNF was shown to be synthesized and secreted not only by macrophages but also by smooth muscle cells, it could play an autocrine role in lipid metabolism during development of atherosclerotic lesions. The cellular population of the lesions, i.e., predominance of macrophages or smooth muscle cells, could determine the relative proportion of triacylglycerol accumulation.     

Abeta Peptide Toxicity is Reduced After Treatments Decreasing Phosphatidylethanolamine Content in Differentiated Neuroblastoma Cells

We investigated whether the toxicity of oligomeric amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta1-42) upon differentiated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, can be affected by changes of membrane lipid composition. An immunostaining technique, using lipids extracted from the cells and separated by thin layer chromatography, suggested that Abeta preferentially binds to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), one of the major lipids in the cell extract. For this reason, we utilized treatments with putative inhibitors of phosphatidylethanolamine biosynthesis (choline, phosphocholine, R59949) to decrease its proportion in the cell membrane; choline treatment (2.5 mM, 24 h) showed the best performance, reducing phosphatidylethanolamine content from 5.7 to 3.3 μg phosphorous/mg protein. Either the extent of Abeta binding or its toxicity decreased onto choline-treated cells. These data may open the possibility to develop future strategies aiming to reduce Abeta toxicity in Alzheimer disease.     

M-RIP targets myosin phosphatase to stress fibers to regulate myosin light chain phosphorylation in vascular smooth muscle cells

Vascular smooth muscle cell contraction and relaxation are directly related to the phosphorylation state of the regulatory myosin light chain. Myosin light chains are dephosphorylated by myosin phosphatase, leading to vascular smooth muscle relaxation. Myosin phosphatase is localized not only at actin-myosin stress fibers where it dephosphorylates myosin light chains, but also in the cytoplasm and at the cell membrane. The mechanisms by which myosin phosphatase is targeted to these loci are incompletely understood. We recently identified myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein as a member of the myosin phosphatase complex that directly binds both the myosin binding subunit of myosin phosphatase and RhoA and is localized to actin-myosin stress fibers. We hypothesized that myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein targets myosin phosphatase to the contractile apparatus to dephosphorylate myosin light chains. We used RNA interference to silence the expression of myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein in human vascular smooth muscle cells. Myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein silencing reduced the localization of the myosin binding subunit to stress fibers. This reduction in stress fiber myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein and myosin binding subunit increased basal and lysophosphatidic acid-stimulated myosin light chain phosphorylation. Neither cellular myosin phosphatase, myosin light chain kinase, nor RhoA activities were changed by myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein silencing. Furthermore, myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein silencing resulted in marked phenotypic changes in vascular smooth muscle cells, including increased numbers of stress fibers, increased cell area, and reduced stress fiber inhibition in response to a Rho-kinase inhibitor. These data support the importance of myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein-dependent targeting of myosin phosphatase to stress fibers for regulating myosin light chain phosphorylation state and morphology in human vascular smooth muscle cells.     

Phenotypic conversion leads to structural and functional changes of smooth muscle sarcolemma

Continuous changes in the length of smooth muscles require a highly organized sarcolemmal structure. Yet, smooth muscle cells also adapt rapidly to altered environmental cues. Their sarcolemmal plasticity must lead to profound changes which affect transmembrane signal transduction as well as contractility. We have established porcine vascular and human visceral smooth muscle cultures of epithelioid and spindle-shaped morphology and determined their plasma membrane properties. Epithelioid cells from both sources contain a higher ratio of cholesterol to glycerophospholipids, and express a less diverse range of lipid-associated annexins. These findings point to a reduction in efficiency of membrane segregation in epithelioid cells. Moreover, compared to spindle-shaped cells, cholesterol is more readily extracted from epithelioid cells with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin and its synthesis is more susceptible to inhibition with lovastatin. The inability of epithelioid cells to process vasoactive metabolites, such as angiotensin or nucleotides further indicates that contractile properties are impaired. Phenotypic plasticity extends beyond the loss of smooth muscle cell marker genes. The plasma membrane has undergone profound functional changes which are incompatible with cyclic foreshortening, but might be important in the development of vascular disease.     

Modulation of membrane composition of swine vascular smooth muscle cells by homologous lipoproteins in culture

Swine vascular smooth muscle cells were exposed to homologous low-density or high-density lipoprotein fractions for 24 h. Total cell membranes were isolated from the post-nuclear supernatant of the cell homogenates, fractionated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and characterized by enzyme assays. The membrane fraction with the lowest density was enriched in plasma membrane marker enzymes. Cholesterol analysis showed that cells exposed to low-density lipoprotein had higher cholesterol-to-protein ratios in total cells, total cell membranes and individual membrane fractions than had the cells exposed to high-density lipoproteins. Cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratios of the plasma membrane-enriched fraction from cells exposed to low-density lipoprotein were higher than the same membrane fraction of cells exposed to high-density lipoprotein. Studies with iodinated lipoproteins showed that these compositional changes could not be due to lipoprotein contamination. Membrane microviscosity was determined by fluorescence depolarization with diphenylhexatriene and the microviscosity of the plasma membrane-enriched fraction was different in the cells exposed to the two different lipoprotein fractions. This difference in membrane microviscosity was significant only when the medium cholesterol content was 40 μg per ml or greater; cells exposed to low-density lipoprotein gave membranes with higher microviscosity.These results demonstrate that the properties of vascular smooth muscle cell membranes are influenced by exposure of the cells to homologous lipoprotein fractions.     

Endothelin action on vascular smooth muscle involves inositol trisphosphate and calcium mobilization

Cultured endothelial cells release a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, endothelin. Cumulative addition of synthetic endothelin to isolated rabbit aortic rings elicited a concentration-dependent increase in contractile tension which was endothelium-independent. In cultured rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells loaded with the fluorescent dye fura 2, endothelin induced a concentration-dependent increase in [Ca2+]i over the range of 0.01 to 100 nM. Moreover, in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, endothelin could still induce an increase in [Ca2+]i. In addition, endothelin stimulated 45Ca2+ efflux from preloaded vascular smooth muscle cells in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+, as well as stimulating 45Ca2+ influx in a concentration-dependent manner. Measurement of inositol phosphates in [3H]-myoinositol-labelled vascular vascular trisphosphate. Unlabelled endothelin inhibited (125I)-endothelin binding to cultured rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Binding was not inhibited by other vasoactive hormones or calcium channel ligands, suggesting cell surface receptors specific for endothelin. We conclude that one of the initial membrane events in the action of endothelin is to induce phospholipase C-stimulated PIP2 hydrolysis and that this signalling mechanism is initiated by endothelin/receptor interaction at the plasma membrane.     

Statin-exposed vascular smooth muscle cells secrete proteoglycans with decreased binding affinity for LDL

Retention of LDL in the artery intima is mediated by extracellular matrix proteoglycans and plays an important role in the initiation of atherosclerosis. Compared with quiescent cells, proliferating smooth muscle cells secrete proteoglycans with elongated glycosaminoglycan side chains, which have an increased binding affinity to LDL. Because 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) decrease smooth muscle cell proliferation, we hypothesized that statin exposure would decrease both the size and LDL binding affinity of vascular proteoglycans. Monkey aortic smooth muscle cells grown in culture were exposed to simvastatin (10 and 100 microM) and cerivastatin (0.1 and 1 microM), and newly secreted proteoglycans were quantified and characterized. Both simvastatin and cerivastatin caused a concentration-dependent reduction in cell growth and reduced 35SO4 incorporation into secreted proteoglycans, on both an absolute and a per cell basis. Interestingly, statin exposure increased the apparent molecular weight and hydrodynamic size of secreted proteoglycans. However, proteoglycans secreted from statin-exposed cells demonstrated a reduction in binding affinity to LDL. Thus, statins may induce atheroprotective changes in vascular proteoglycans and lower LDL retention in the vessel wall. These findings suggest a mechanism whereby statins may benefit atherosclerosis in a manner unrelated to serum LDL lowering.     

Caveolae and cholesterol distribution in vascular smooth muscle cells of different phenotypes.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) grown in primary culture are converted from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype. This includes a marked morphological reorganization, with loss of myofilaments and formation of a large ER-Golgi complex. In addition, the number of cell surface caveolae is distinctly reduced and the handling of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol changed. Here we used filipin as a marker to study the distribution of cholesterol in SMCs by electron microscopy. In contractile cells, filipin-sterol complexes were preferentially found in caveolae and adjacent ER cisternae (present in both leaflets of the membranes). After exposure to LDL or cholesterol, labeling with filipin was increased both in membrane organelles and in the cytoplasm. In contrast, treatment with mevinolin (a cholesterol synthesis inhibitor) or beta-cyclodextrin (a molecule that extracts cholesterol from cells) decreased the reaction with filipin but did not affect the close relation between the ER and the cell surface. In synthetic cells, filipin-sterol complexes were diffusely spread in the plasma membrane and the strongest cytoplasmic reaction was noted in endosomes/lysosomes, both under normal conditions and after incubation with LDL or cholesterol. On the basis of the present findings, we propose a mechanism for direct exchange of cholesterol between the plasma membrane and the ER and more active in contractile than in synthetic SMCs.     

Cinematographic analysis of vascular smooth muscle cell interactions with extracellular matrix

Summary The interactions of vascular smooth muscle cells with growth modulators and extracellular matrix molecules may play a role in the proliferation and migration of these cells after vascular injury and during the development of atherosclerosis. Time-lapse cinematographic techniques have been used to study cell division and migration of bovine carotid artery smooth muscle cells in response to matrix molecules consisting of solubilized basement membrane (Matrigel) and type I collagen. When cells were grown adjacent to Matrigel, both migration and cell proliferation were increased and interdivision time was shortened. Cells grown in Matrigel or in type I collagen had markedly reduced migration rates but interdivision time was not altered. Further, diffusible components of the Matrigel were found to stimulate proliferation of the smooth muscle cells. This work was supported by grants HL35684 and SCOR HL14212 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.