Smooth muscle cells give rise to osteochondrogenic precursors and chondrocytes in calcifying arteries.

ABSTRACT: Vascular calcification is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. To develop appropriate prevention and/or therapeutic strategies for vascular calcification, it is important to understand the origins of the cells that participate in this process. In this report, we used the SM22-Cre recombinase and Rosa26-LacZ alleles to genetically trace cells derived from smooth muscle. We found that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) gave rise to osteochondrogenic precursor- and chondrocyte-like cells in calcified blood vessels of matrix Gla protein deficient (MGP(-/-)) mice. This lineage reprogramming of SMCs occurred before calcium deposition and was associated with an early onset of Runx2/Cbfa1 expression and the downregulation of myocardin and Msx2. There was no change in the constit

SUBMITTER: Speer MY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2716055 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature