TITLE:
Age-Related Changes of Procollagen Alpha Polypeptide in Vascular Remodeling in Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell
AUTHORS:
Minmin Yu, Haocheng Zhan, Dalin Song, Weili Gai
KEYWORDS:
Age-Related, Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell, Procollagen Alpha Polypeptide, Vascular Remodeling
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.8 No.12,
December
14,
2020
ABSTRACT: The current study revealed that increased synthesis and secretion of collagen types I and III play major roles in arterial wall remodeling, aneurysm formation, and atherosclerotic cap stability. The aim is to investigate the age-related changes of the procollagen alpha polypeptide gene mRNA and protein expression in the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in rats, as well as the possible underlying mechanisms. We tested in vitro culture of VSMC from the thoracoabdominal aorta in neonate and 9-month-old healthy male Wistar rats; procollagen alpha polypeptide mRNA and procollagen alpha polypeptide protein expression were detected, using RT-PCR, VG staining, Western blot and ELISA methods. Semi-quantitative analysis displayed that, in the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the type I collagen α polypeptide chain mRNA increased in the adult group, but not significantly (P = 0.05). Further, there was no significant difference between the two groups of type III collagen α polypeptide chain mRNA (P > 0.05). Both the type I and type III procollagen alpha polypeptide protein expression were increased significantly in the older group as compared with the young group (P