Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Involvement of the immunological mechanisms in atherogenesis has recently been suggested by immunohistological detection of macrophages and T lymphocytes in atherosclerotic lesions. In the present study, we have investigated the regulatory effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), a cytokine secreted by activated T cells, on the production and secretion of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) from macrophages in culture. The human monocytic leukemia cell line, THP-1, was treated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h to induce macrophage differentiation and PDGF production, and then various doses of recombinant human IFN-gamma (0-1000 I.U./ml) were added to the culture. After 48 h, the conditioned medium and the cells were harvested and analyzed for PDGF production. PDGF-dependent mitogenic activity in the conditioned medium, estimated by neutralization of mitogenic activity with anti-PDGF antibody, was suppressed by IFN-gamma treatment. Radioimmunoassays for PDGF also revealed a decrease in both PDGF-AA and -BB in the conditioned medium with IFN-gamma treatment, whereas neither total cell DNA as an indication of cell number nor overall protein synthesis based on [3H]leucine incorporation were decreased. Northern analysis of total RNA extracted from the cells demonstrated that IFN-gamma suppressed the level of PDGF mRNA. Analysis of mRNA degradation in the presence of actinomycin D demonstrated that the decrease in PDGF mRNA was not due to enhanced degradation of mRNA. A similar inhibitory effect of IFN-gamma on PDGF mRNA levels was also found in monocyte-derived macrophages cultured in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor. These results suggest that IFN-gamma modulates production and secretion of PDGF from macrophages and that the functions of macrophages in atherogenesis may be regulated by the cellular interactions between T cells and macrophages through the action of cytokines such as IFN-gamma.
Atherosclerosis 1992 Nov
PMID:Interferon-gamma suppresses PDGF production from THP-1 cells and blood monocyte-derived macrophages. 144 96

Although intimal proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) is recognized as one of the key mechanisms in the development of atherosclerosis, our knowledge of the role of circulating growth factors for SMC in this process is limited. In the present study the plasma levels of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG), platelet factor 4 (PF 4) and total growth factor activity were determined in a group of 30 young postinfarction patients who had participated in an angiographic study of mechanisms associated with progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Significant correlations were found between the total growth factor activity in plasma and progression (r = 0.42, P < 0.05), as well as severity (r = 0.52, P < 0.01), of global coronary atherosclerosis. Attempts to identify the nature of the total growth factor activity indicated that less than 20% could be attributed to PDGF, the major serum mitogen for SMC. PDGF levels determined by radioimmunoassay were not related to progression or severity of global coronary atherosclerosis, but showed a significant association with the number and severity of distinct stenoses (r = 0.40, P < 0.05). Due to the retrospective design of this study, it is not possible to conclude whether there is a causal relationship between circulating growth factors and development of coronary atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Association between high levels of growth factors in plasma and progression of coronary atherosclerosis. 145 23

Vascular smooth muscle cells proliferate and transform to foam cells in the process of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB induced expression of proto-oncogene c-fms in vascular smooth muscle cells, which normally do not express c-fms, isolated from either human umbilical artery or rabbit aorta. No effect of the protein kinase C activator, phorbol ester, was demonstrated on mRNA expression of c-fms. In contrast, the scavenger receptor activity was induced by both PDGF-BB and phorbol ester. These results indicate that two characteristic genes of monocyte-macrophages were induced by PDGF-BB via the different pathways, and suggest that PDGF-BB plays an important role in initiating phenotypic conversion of smooth muscle cells to macrophage-like cells.
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PMID:Platelet-derived growth factor induces c-fms and scavenger receptor genes in vascular smooth muscle cells. 153 29

Atherosclerosis, a leading cause of mortality in the developed world, has mainly been studied with respect to the pathogenic role of lipids. However, over the last few years, a new avenue of research has stemmed from Benditt's monoclonal theory which linkens the atheroma plaque to a benign tumor developed from a single smooth muscle cell. Investigations into mechanisms capable of initiating this monoclonal cell growth have included studies of protooncogene activation. Barrett and Benditt have reported increased expression of the sis oncogene in the atheroma plaque; the product of this oncogene is very similar to the beta chain of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) which may play a role in the development of the atheroma plaque. These recent studies focusing on the earliest step of formation of the atheroma plaque, ie, cell growth, complement the pathophysiologic theories studied until now.
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PMID:[Atherosclerosis and oncogenes]. 157 Jan 85

In cultured rat aortic smooth cells, endothelin-1 induced tyrosine phosphorylation of at least five proteins with molecular masses of about 79, 77, 73, 45 and 40 kDa in dose- and time-dependent manners. Platelet-derived growth factor also induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the same set of proteins in addition to other proteins including platelet-derived growth factor receptors. This growth factor markedly stimulated DNA synthesis and an increase in cell number in this cell type, but endothelin-1 failed to stimulate these responses under the same conditions. These results demonstrate for the first time that endothelin-1 induces tyrosine phosphorylation of some proteins but suggest that these reactions are not enough to stimulate proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.
Atherosclerosis 1992 Jan
PMID:Stimulation of protein-tyrosine phosphorylation by endothelin-1 in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. 157 17

The production of growth factors by endothelial cells (EC) and other vascular cells may regulate the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells in normal and pathological vessel wall processes. We have previously shown that EC production of platelet-derived growth factor-like protein (PDGFc) is regulatable, and in particular is inhibited by specific lipids and by lipid-containing complexes, e.g. oxidized low density lipoproteins and fish oil emulsions. In this report we show that the inhibitory activity of the fish oils is in turn regulated by a component present in serum. Addition of the fish oil extract MaxEPA to bovine aortic EC, in serum-free medium, reduced PDGFc secretion to about 30% that of control cells. Addition of calf serum to the medium almost completely suppressed this inhibitory activity of MaxEPA, while in contrast, fetal calf serum augmented the activity. The suppressor activity in calf serum was dose-dependent, with a half-maximal suppression of about 0.1% serum at a MaxEPA concentration of 50 micrograms/ml. Adult human serum was observed to have a quantitatively similar suppressor activity. The suppressor activity in human serum was identified as ceruloplasmin since: 1) purified ceruloplasmin also suppressed the activity of fish oil, and at concentrations comparable to the inhibitory levels in serum, and 2) removal of ceruloplasmin from human plasma-derived serum by immunoprecipitation restored the inhibitory activity of MaxEPA. These results may have implications in the effectiveness of fish oils as a therapeutic agent for the reduction of intimal thickening in atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Serum factor that blocks the action of fish oils on endothelial cell production of platelet-derived growth factor is ceruloplasmin. 158 87

Although platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is thought to be a major mediator of atherosclerotic disease, the pathophysiology of diabetic vasculopathy, including atherosclerosis, is unclear. By means of an enzyme immunoassay that used a monoclonal antibody against human PDGF-B chain, PDGF-like immunoreactivity was determined in serum, platelet-poor plasma, and platelet lysate of 28 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and 11 control subjects. Growth-promoting activity was also measured by tritiated thymidine incorporation into DNA of cultured human fibroblasts. The PDGF-like immunoreactivity in serum was correlated (r = 0.42; p less than 0.01) with that in platelet lysate prepared from a fixed volume of blood. Furthermore, a correlation (r = 0.70; p less than 0.001) was found between the PDGF-like immunoreactivity and the growth-promoting activity in platelet lysate but not in serum. There was no significant difference between patients with diabetes and control subjects with respect to the PDGF-like immunoreactivity in serum or in platelet lysate (38.2 +/- 2.2 vs 42.8 +/- 3.1 ng/ml or 49.1 +/- 2.4 vs 56.2 +/- 3.4 ng/mg protein; mean +/- SEM). In contrast, the serum growth-promoting activity was lower (p less than 0.05) in patients with diabetes than in control subjects (88.1% +/- 7.1% vs 117.4% +/- 6.9%) and there was a negative correlation (r = -0.39; p less than 0.05) between the serum growth-promoting activity and the fasting plasma glucose level. The growth-promoting activity in platelet lysate of patients with diabetes did not differ from that of the control subjects (59.9% +/- 11.6% vs 65.9% +/- 11.2%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Platelet-derived growth factor and growth-promoting activity in the serum samples and platelets of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. 161 32

PDGF may be involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of disorders including atherosclerosis and certain types of cancer. There is currently little understanding of the molecular structure of PDGF and of the critical amino acid residues involved in receptor binding and cell activation. Two such PDGF-B chain residues, arginine 27 and isoleucine 30, have been identified by a site-directed mutagenesis programme. Substitutions in these positions can lead to PDGF mutants defective in both receptor affinity and cell activation as judged by displacement of [125I]PDGF-BB, mitogenic assay and inositol lipid turnover. Circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy show that such mutations do not disrupt the structure of PDGF.
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PMID:Two PDGF-B chain residues, arginine 27 and isoleucine 30, mediate receptor binding and activation. 166 70

The production of the precursor of tissue collagenase/matrix metalloproteinase 1 (proMMP-1) by cultured human aortic medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was significantly enhanced by the treatment of the cells with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), interleukin 1 or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The response to PDGF of SMCs exhibited a tendency to be age-dependent: only SMCs obtained from older individuals (age: 54, 56, 72 and 74 years) responded to PDGF and synthesized proMMP-1, but not SMCs from young individuals (age: 10, 16 and 41 years), and weak responsiveness with a 19-year-old individual. On the other hand, induction of proMMP-1 synthesis in SMCs by TPA was not discriminated by age. The synthesis of two other related matrix metalloproteinases was also examined. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 was found to be constitutively expressed in zymogen form in SMCs and its synthesis was not affected by the treatments with PDGF, interleukin 1 or TPA. The synthesis of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (stromelysin) was not detected in SMCs from both young and old individuals even after the treatment with PDGF, interleukin-1, prostaglandin E2 or TPA. The ability of SMCs to synthesize and secrete proMMP-1 in response to PDGF suggests that this enzyme plays an important role in the migration of PDGF-stimulated SMCs from the media into the intima of aorta and the eventual formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
Atherosclerosis 1991 Dec
PMID:Production of tissue collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase 1) by human aortic smooth muscle cells in response to platelet-derived growth factor. 166 62

The Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbit is a widely studied animal model for the human genetic disorder familial hypercholesterolemia, and spontaneously develops atherosclerotic disease. We studied the growth characteristics of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from WHHL rabbits compared with VSMC from Japanese white rabbits. We measured cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and c-myc proto-oncogene expression, in response to growth stimuli such as fetal bovine serum (FBS) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). VSMC from Japanese white rabbits exhibited a 4-fold increase in cell numbers during a 5-day incubation period compared with those from WHHL rabbits. FBS and PDGF stimulated DNA synthesis, as measured by thymidine incorporation into VSMC, in both Japanese white rabbits and WHHL rabbits, however the response was significantly higher in the former strain. The intracellular pH value of VSMC determined using the pH-sensitive fluorescence dye 2',7'-bis-carboxyethyl-carboxyfluorescein was significantly higher in WHHL rabbits than in Japanese white rabbits. Proto-oncogene c-myc was induced by exposure of VSMC to FBS, however there was no significant difference in c-myc mRNA levels between the two strains. These results suggest that VSMC from WHHL rabbits are not genetically growth accelerated, but show decreased growth response to growth stimuli.
Atherosclerosis 1991 Oct
PMID:Vascular smooth muscle cells from genetically hyperlipidemic rabbit (WHHL rabbit) exhibit decreased growth response. 175 82


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