Thymosin β4 protects against aortic aneurysm via endocytic regulation of growth factor signaling.

ABSTRACT: Vascular stability and tone are maintained by contractile smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, injury-induced growth factors stimulate a contractile-synthetic phenotypic modulation which increases susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). As a regulator of embryonic VSMC differentiation, we hypothesized that Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) may function to maintain healthy vasculature throughout postnatal life. This was supported by the identification of an interaction with low density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP1), an endocytic regulator of platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) signaling and VSMC proliferation. LRP1 variants have been implicated by genome-wide association studies with risk of AAA and other arterial diseases. Tβ4-null mice displayed aortic VSMC and elastin

SUBMITTER: Munshaw S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8121525 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature