Project description:Previous efforts to conditionally delete the Srf transcription factor in smooth muscle lineages were met with early demise of the mouse due to a gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction phenotype. We have developed a new, more VSMC selective Cre recombinase mouse (Itga8-CreERT2), that circumvents the GI phenotype thus affording the opportunity to evaluate, in an unambiguous manner, VSMC phenotypes where Srf is reduced. The mice live for at least 6 months post-tamoxifen and here we report the first RNA-seq experiments in mouse aortic SMC where Srf is reduced.
Project description:The objective of this study is to assess the early effects of the Serum Response Factor deletion on the vascular gene expression program. To generate smooth muscle specific SRF knockout, 4 month-old [SRF-flex2neo -SM22CreERT2ki/+] mice (SRFSMKO mice) were injected i.p. with 1mg of tamoxifen for 3 days. All control (SRF-flex2neo littermates) and SRFSMKO mice were systematically injected with tamoxifen to normalize for any effects due to tamoxifen.
Project description:Obesity causes diabetes type 2 (DMT2) leading to vascular dysfunction and finally renal end-organ damage. Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) EGF receptor (EGFR) modulates vascular wall homeostasis in part via serum response factor (SRF), a major regulator of VSM differentiation and a sensor for glucose. We investigated the role of VSM-EGFR during obesity-induced renovascular dysfunction and the EGFR-hyperglycemia crosstalk.
Project description:All current smooth muscle cell (SMC) restricted Cre mice recombine floxed alleles in vascular and visceral SMCs. We generated a tamoxifen-inducible CreERT2 mouse, Itga8-CreERT2, and compared its activity to the widely used Myh11-CreERT2 mouse. Both CreERT2 mice showed similar activity in vascular SMCs; however, Itga8-CreERT2 displayed low activity in visceral SMC-containing tissues (e.g., intestine). Myh11-CreERT2 (but not Itga8-CreERT2) mice exhibited high levels of CreERT2 protein, tamoxifen-independent activity, and an altered transcriptome. Whereas Myh11-CreERT2-mediated knockout of Srf resulted in a lethal intestinal phenotype, loss of Srf with Itga8-CreERT2 (SrfItga8) revealed viable mice with attenuated vascular SMC contractile gene expression, but no evidence of intestinal pathology. Male and female SrfItga8 mice presented with vascular contractile incompetence; however, only male SrfItga8 mice showed systemic changes in blood pressure. These results establish the Itga8-CreERT2 mouse as an alternative to existing SMC Cre strains where gene loss may result in visceral myopathies that obfuscate accurate phenotyping in vascular SMCs.
Project description:The full length of LncVSM transfected into Vascular Smooth Muscle cells to down-regulation for screening differential expression prolifes of LncVSM effecting.The empty vector transfected Vascular Smooth Muscle cells as controls. Eight Samples analyzed.
Project description:LncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in aortic smooth muscle cells with Srf knockout or Myocd over-expression were analyzed by Arraystar Mouse LncRNA Microarray V3.0.
Project description:Crotonylation of histones is discovered of late as one of post-translational modification that can regulate gene expression. However, the function of crotonylation on non-histone proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is unclear. Here, we aim to use modification and proteomic analysis to find the cellular characteristic of crotonylated non-histone proteins and the crosstalk with ubiquitinated proteins in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic remodeling. We performed modification and proteomic analysis of VSMCs before and after stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB). The crotonylated and ubiquitinated pan-antibody was used to enrich the protein and then subjected to high-throughput mass spectrometry analysis. The enrichment analysis was performed within differentially modified proteins in regards to GO terms, KEGG and protein domain.
Project description:The full length of LncVSM transfected into Vascular Smooth Muscle cells to down-regulation for screening differential expression prolifes of LncVSM effecting.The empty vector transfected Vascular Smooth Muscle cells as controls.