Induction of Apoptosis by Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate and N-Acetylcysteine in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (original) (raw)

This study investigates the induction of apoptosis by pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Contrary to their role as antioxidants in other cell types, PDTC and NAC were found to trigger apoptosis in rat and human smooth muscle cells, as evidenced by cell shrinkage and DNA strand breaks. Notably, overexpression of Bcl-2 was able to mitigate the cell death initiated by these antioxidants. The implications of these findings suggest that antioxidant treatments could be strategically used to inhibit the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in the context of arteriosclerosis.