Tgfbr2 disruption in postnatal smooth muscle impairs aortic wall homeostasis
Wei Li, Qingle Li, Yang Jiao, Lingfeng Qin, Rahmat Ali, Jing Zhou, Jacopo Ferruzzi, Richard W. Kim, Arnar Geirsson, Harry C. Dietz, Stefan Offermanns, Jay D. Humphrey, George Tellides
Wei Li, Qingle Li, Yang Jiao, Lingfeng Qin, Rahmat Ali, Jing Zhou, Jacopo Ferruzzi, Richard W. Kim, Arnar Geirsson, Harry C. Dietz, Stefan Offermanns, Jay D. Humphrey, George Tellides
View: Text | PDF
Research Article Cardiology

Tgfbr2 disruption in postnatal smooth muscle impairs aortic wall homeostasis

Abstract

TGF-β is essential for vascular development; however, excess TGF-β signaling promotes thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection in multiple disorders, including Marfan syndrome. Since the pathology of TGF-β overactivity manifests primarily within the arterial media, it is widely assumed that suppression of TGF-β signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells will ameliorate aortic disease. We tested this hypothesis by conditional inactivation of Tgfbr2, which encodes the TGF-β type II receptor, in smooth muscle cells of postweanling mice. Surprisingly, the thoracic aorta rapidly thickened, dilated, and dissected in these animals. Tgfbr2 disruption predictably decreased canonical Smad signaling, but unexpectedly increased MAPK signaling. Type II receptor–independent effects of TGF-β and pathological responses by nonrecombined smooth muscle cells were excluded by serologic neutralization. Aortic disease was caused by a perturbed contractile apparatus in medial cells and growth factor production by adventitial cells, both of which resulted in maladaptive paracrine interactions between the vessel wall compartments. Treatment with rapamycin restored a quiescent smooth muscle phenotype and prevented dissection. Tgfbr2 disruption in smooth muscle cells also accelerated aneurysm growth in a murine model of Marfan syndrome. Our data indicate that basal TGF-β signaling in smooth muscle promotes postnatal aortic wall homeostasis and impedes disease progression.

Authors

Wei Li, Qingle Li, Yang Jiao, Lingfeng Qin, Rahmat Ali, Jing Zhou, Jacopo Ferruzzi, Richard W. Kim, Arnar Geirsson, Harry C. Dietz, Stefan Offermanns, Jay D. Humphrey, George Tellides

×
Problems with a PDF?

This file is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. If you have not installed and configured the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system.

Having trouble reading a PDF?

PDFs are designed to be printed out and read, but if you prefer to read them online, you may find it easier if you increase the view size to 125%.

Having trouble saving a PDF?

Many versions of the free Acrobat Reader do not allow Save. You must instead save the PDF from the JCI Online page you downloaded it from. PC users: Right-click on the Download link and choose the option that says something like "Save Link As...". Mac users should hold the mouse button down on the link to get these same options.

Having trouble printing a PDF?

  1. Try printing one page at a time or to a newer printer.
  2. Try saving the file to disk before printing rather than opening it "on the fly." This requires that you configure your browser to "Save" rather than "Launch Application" for the file type "application/pdf", and can usually be done in the "Helper Applications" options.
  3. Make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader.

Supplemental data - Download (2.02 MB)

Advertisement