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Smooth Muscle Cell and Endothelial Cell Expression Profiles for Membrane Receptors: Effects of Aging and Vessel Type
Author(s) -
Boerman Erika M,
Shaw Rebecca,
Ramnath Anjana,
Joshi Trupti,
Segal Steven S
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1277.2
Subject(s) - receptor , cell type , biology , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , vascular smooth muscle , receptor expression , gene , medicine , endocrinology , biochemistry , smooth muscle
Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) interact to control dilation and constriction of resistance arteries, thereby regulating tissue blood flow and oxygen delivery. The functions of and interactions between SMCs and ECs are regulated by multiple membrane receptors and ion channels. While the expression of genes encoding these proteins varies between cell types, how such expression is affected by aging and may vary between vascular beds are poorly understood. To probe these relationships, we applied genomics and informatics to test the hypothesis that the expression profile of membrane receptors mediating vascular reactivity to physiological agonists varies not only with cell type, but is affected by biological age and vessel type. Individual mesenteric artery (MA) and superior epigastric artery (SEA) segments were collected from Old (24–26 months) and Young (3–6 months) male C57BL/6 mice; each vessel was dissociated to obtain ~5,000 EC and 500 SMCs (n=5 per group). Total RNA was extracted from each cell sample; custom Taqman qRT‐PCR arrays were used to determine the expression profile of receptors. Critical threshold (ΔΔCT) values were generated and t‐tests computed for identifying significant changes at P<0.05. Differences in expression levels of genes for > 25 receptors were identified across cell types, ages, and arteries. Heat maps and distance matrices illustrate up‐ and down‐regulation of receptors for respective comparisons. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database was applied to predict downstream function and signaling pathways, to construct networks of co‐expression and predict protein interactions. Our findings illustrate pronounced differences in expression profiles between ECs and SMCs while revealing more subtle differences with aging and between vessel types. Support or Funding Information NIH R37HL041026 & F32HL118836