Abstract
Abnormal proliferation of human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs) is a central event in the development of atherosclerosis (1–3) As a result, there is considerable interest in the establishment of hVSMC cultures as a mode1 of this disease process However, it has been noted in the past (4,5) that hVSMCs, especially when cultured by the enzyme-dispersal technique (hVSMC,ED), grow poorly in culture compared to VSMCs from other species (e.g., rat) This has limited their use for cell-culture studies. We have recently reported that the reduced proliferative capacity of hVSMCED from adult aorta can be attributed to the endogenous production of active TGF-β(6,7). We (6–8) and others (9–11) have shown that TGF-β; is a potent inhibtior of smooth muscle cell proliferation. Moreover, recent studies in animal models of atherosclerosis (12) have suggested that TGF-P plays a pivotal role in regulation of vessel wall architecture (13). We have also shown that hVSMCs derived by the alternative method of explanting (hVSMCEX) have a greater proliferative capacity than the hVSMCED (14) In accordance with our hypotheses, the cells grown from explanted tissue did not produce TGF-β; (14).
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© 1996 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
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Kirschenlohr, H.L., Metcalfe, J.C., Grainger, D.J. (1996). Cultures of Proliferating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Adult Human Aorta. In: Jones, G.E. (eds) Human Cell Culture Protocols. Methods in Molecular Medicine, vol 2. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-335-X:319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-335-X:319
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-335-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-586-0
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