Open AccessGene Expression Programs of Human Smooth Muscle Cells: Tissue-Specific Differentiation and Prognostic Significance in Breast Cancers
Author(s) -
JenTsan Chi,
Edwin H. Rodriguez,
Zhen Wang,
Dimitry S.A. Nuyten,
Sayan Mukherjee,
Matt van de Rijn,
Marc J. van de Vijver,
Trevor Hastie,
Patrick O. Brown
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
plos genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.587
H-Index - 233
eISSN - 1553-7404
pISSN - 1553-7390
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pgen.0030164
Subject(s) - biology , vascular smooth muscle , gene expression , pathology , cell type , gene expression profiling , gene , cell , smooth muscle , endocrinology , genetics , medicine
Smooth muscle is present in a wide variety of anatomical locations, such as blood vessels, various visceral organs, and hair follicles. Contraction of smooth muscle is central to functions as diverse as peristalsis, urination, respiration, and the maintenance of vascular tone. Despite the varied physiological roles of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), we possess only a limited knowledge of the heterogeneity underlying their functional and anatomic specializations. As a step toward understanding the intrinsic differences between SMCs from different anatomical locations, we used DNA microarrays to profile global gene expression patterns in 36 SMC samples from various tissues after propagation under defined conditions in cell culture. Significant variations were found between the cells isolated from blood vessels, bronchi, and visceral organs. Furthermore, pervasive differences were noted within the visceral organ subgroups that appear to reflect the distinct molecular pathways essential for organogenesis as well as those involved in organ-specific contractile and physiological properties. Finally, we sought to understand how this diversity may contribute to SMC-involving pathology. We found that a gene expression signature of the responses of vascular SMCs to serum exposure is associated with a significantly poorer prognosis in human cancers, potentially linking vascular injury response to tumor progression.