Vascular smooth muscle cells express multiple type I receptors for TGF-beta, activin, and bone morphogenetic proteins

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Alex AgrotisAlex Bobik

Abstract

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are known to produce activins, bone morphogenetic proteins and transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-betas). To determine whether these TGF-beta superfamily members exert autocrine effects on VSMCs we examined whether specific type I receptors (ALKs) for such peptides were expressed by the cells. RNA from both quiescent or growth-factor-activated VSMCs was reverse transcribed then cDNAs encoding ALK-2, ALK-3, ALK-5, and ALK-6 were amplified and characterised using specific PCR primers. All four ALK mRNAs were abundantly expressed. The ALK-5 fragment harbored a deletion of 12 nucleotides, removing 4 extracellular amino acids (Gly-Pro-Ser-Val) adjacent to its transmembrane domain. This deletion, which may arise from anomalous splicing of heteronuclear RNA, is likely to influence formation of the ALK-5:type II receptor complex through conformational changes associated with removal of a putative hinge region containing proline. Our finding that multiple ALKs are expressed by VSMCs would account for the multiplicity of effects TGF-beta peptides exert on these cells.

Citations

Mar 8, 2011·Biological Chemistry·Johannes M NuessleAndre Menke
Apr 29, 2009·Tissue Engineering. Part a·Tetsuya ImamuraOsamu Nishizawa
May 6, 2006·Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology·Alex Bobik
Nov 2, 2004·American Journal of Physiology. Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology·Trina K JefferyNicholas W Morrell
May 14, 2008·Cell Biology International·Masaru MurakamiMasayuki Funaba
May 10, 2011·The American Journal of Pathology·Min YeeMichael A O'Reilly

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