Novel signaling pathways promote a paracrine wave of prostacyclin-induced vascular smooth muscle differentiation.

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Kasza Z, Fetalvero KM, Ding M, Wagner RJ, Acs K, Guzman AK, Douville KL, Powell RJ, Hwa J, Martin KA

Novel signaling pathways promote a paracrine wave of prostacyclin-induced vascular smooth muscle differentiation.

J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2009 May;46(5):682-94. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2009.01.006. Epub 2009 Jan 23.

PubMed ID

19302827 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

The important athero-protective role of prostacyclin is becoming increasingly evident as recent studies have revealed adverse cardiovascular effects in mice lacking the prostacyclin receptor, in patients taking selective COX-2 inhibitors, and in patients in the presence of a dysfunctional prostacyclin receptor genetic variant. We have recently reported that this protective mechanism includes the promotion of a quiescent differentiated phenotype in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Herein, we address the intriguing question of how localized endothelial release of the very unstable eicosanoid, prostacyclin, exerts a profound effect on the vascular media, often 30 cell layers thick. We report a novel PKA-, Akt-1- and ERK1/2-dependent prostacyclin-induced prostacyclin release that appears to play an important role in propagation of the quiescent, differentiated phenotype through adjacent arterial smooth muscle cells in the vascular media. Treating VSMC with the prostacyclin analog iloprost induced differentiation (contractile protein expression and contractile morphology), and also up-regulated COX-2 expression, leading to prostacyclin release by VSMC. This paracrine prostacyclin release, in turn, promoted differentiation and COX-2 induction in neighboring VSMC that were not exposed to iloprost. Using siRNA and pharmacologic inhibitors, we report that this positive feedback mechanism, prostacyclin-induced prostacyclin release, is mediated by cAMP/PKA signaling, ERK1/2 activation, and a novel prostacyclin receptor signaling pathway, inhibition of Akt-1. Furthermore, these pathways appear to be regulated by the prostacyclin receptor independently of one another. We conclude that prevention of de-differentiation and proliferation through a paracrine positive feedback mechanism is a major cardioprotective function of prostacyclin.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Epoprostenol	Prostacyclin receptor	Protein	Humans	Yes	Agonist	Details