OBJECTIVES The A10 cell line was derived from the thoracic aorta of embryonic rat and is a commonly used model of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Despite its wide use this cell line has not been well characterized. This is especially important in light of recent evidence of phenotypically distinct cell populations isolated from rat vascular tissue. Therefore, the present study was undertak...

leiomyoma is a very rare intraocular tumor, which can occur in the iris, ciliary body and choroids. we report a case of choroidal leiomyoma in a 16-years old women whose left eye was enucleated because of clinical suspicion for melanoma. using conventional light microscopy tumor was interpreted as spindle cell tumor, most probably of neurogenic origin and after using immunohistochemical studies...

herein we report a case of primary leiomyosarcoma of testis, which was believed to originate from normal testicular structures.  it contained smooth muscle cells, blood vessels and contractile cells of the seminiferous tubules.  no evidence of tumor spread was found. treatment consisted of orchiectomy with high ligation of the spermatic cord.  the patient received no adjuvant therapy and there ...

OBJECTIVE Actin dynamics in vascular smooth muscle is known to regulate contractile differentiation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. However, the list of genes regulated by actin polymerization in smooth muscle remains incomprehensive. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify actin-regulated genes in smooth muscle and to demonstrate the role of these genes i...

A major factor contributing to failure of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) is migration of smooth muscle cells into the forming neointima. To identify the source of smooth muscle cells in neointima, we created end-to-end AVFs by anastomosing the common carotid artery to the jugular vein and studied neural crest-derived smooth muscle cells from the carotid artery, which are Wnt1-positive during dev...

Diversity of smooth muscle within the vascular system is generated by alternative splicing of exons, yet there is limited understanding of its timing or control mechanisms. We examined splicing of myosin phosphatase regulatory subunit (Mypt1) exon 24 (E24) in relation to smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (Smmhc) and smoothelin (Smtn) alternative exons (Smmhc E6 and Smtn E20) during maturation of...

BACKGROUND Notch signaling in vascular smooth muscle precursors is required for smooth muscle differentiation. Jagged1 expression on endothelium activates Notch in vascular smooth muscle precursors including those of neural crest origin to initiate the formation of a smooth muscle layer in a maturing blood vessel. METHODS AND RESULTS Here, we show that Jagged1 is a direct Notch target in smoo...

This research was undertaken to identify the cell surface receptor responsible for mediating apolipoprotein E (apoE) inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-directed smooth muscle cell migration. Initial studies revealed the expression of the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), the LDL receptor-related protein (LRP), the very low density lipoprotein receptor (VLDL), and apoE re...

The 20-kD regulatory light chain (RLC) plays a central role in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. Little is known about the structure or expression of smooth muscle myosin light chain (MLC) genes. A cDNA library was constructed in the expression vector, lambda gt-11, with mRNA derived from cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Using antibody generated against tracheal smooth muscle...

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is in part attributed to the effects of hyperglycemia on vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In diabetic animal models, hyperglycemia results in hypercontractility of vascular smooth muscle possibly due to increased activation of Rh...