Presence of alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells in the luminal surface of adult aorta - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2009 Mar 13;380(3):620-6.

doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.01.135. Epub 2009 Jan 27.

Kouichiro Ichimura, Tomoya Mita, Shiho Nakayama, Wen Long Jin, Takahisa Hirose, Yoshio Fujitani, Katsuhiko Sumiyoshi, Kazunori Shimada, Hiroyuki Daida, Tatsuo Sakai, Masako Mitsumata, Ryuzo Kawamori, Hirotaka Watada

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Presence of alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells in the luminal surface of adult aorta

Kosuke Azuma et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009.

Abstract

Alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells have not been found in adult aortic endothelium except valve leaflets. Here, using en face immunostaining method, we identified alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells in the luminal surface of rat, mouse and human thoracic aortas. These cells express both endothelial markers and definite smooth muscle cell markers and were only occasionally observed in thoracic aorta of wild type mice and rats. Their density did not increase with aging. Given that alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells express low level of vascular endothelial-cadherin that is important for the maintenance of cell contact, these cells were frequently detected in the thoracic aorta of 5-week-old apolipoprotein-E deficient mice. In 20- to 24-week-old apolipoprotein-E deficient mice, marked accumulation of alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells was observed especially in the luminal surface of atheromatous plaques. Our findings indicate the existence of alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive endothelial cells in adult aortic endothelium and the possible association with progression of atherosclerosis.

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