Inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation: a new strategy to stimulate elastogenesis in the aorta.

Haploinsufficiency of elastin leads, in more than half of patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome, to development of supravalvular aortic stenosis and hypertension. Determining mechanisms implicated in elastin synthesis would be of interest to find new elastogenic molecules to treat such a pathology. Here, we analyzed the signaling pathway linking intracellular calcium concentration to elastin regulation to find new molecules able to increase elastin synthesis. Their elastogenic ability was then investigated, in vitro and in vivo, using inhibitors of the highlighted pathway. The Brown Norway rat strain was used here as an arterial elastin-deficient model. Our data indicated that A23187, a calcium ionophore, decreases elastin expression in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells, both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. Addition of A23187 induced transient activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2, leading to an upregulation of activator protein-1 transcription factors, which correlated with the inhibition of elastin gene transcription. Pretreatment with U0126, an inhibitor of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 phosphorylation, abolished the inhibition of elastin gene transcription by A23187. In vitro, U0126 increased elastin synthesis and in vivo, 24 hours after an intravenous administration, elastin gene transcription and elastin mRNA levels were increased in the rat aorta. A chronic treatment, diffusing U0126 for 10 weeks, increased aortic elastin content without changing cell number and collagen content. In conclusion, calcium ionophore represses elastin gene transcription via activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 pathway and activator protein-1 transcription factors. Moreover, we provide strong evidence that inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 increases elastin synthesis and could thus be suitable for treating vascular pathologies characterized by diminished arterial elastin content.

Potassium channel openers increase aortic elastic fiber formation and reverse the genetically determined elastin deficit in the BN rat.

Hypertension is a cardiovascular disorder that appears in more than half of the patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome, hemizygous for the elastin gene among 26 to 28 other genes. It was shown that the antihypertensive drug minoxidil, an ATP-dependent potassium channel opener, enhances elastic fiber formation; however, no wide clinical application was developed because of its adverse side effects. The Brown Norway rat was used here as an arterial elastin-deficient model. We tested 3 different potassium channel openers, minoxidil, diazoxide, and pinacidil, and 1 potassium channel blocker, glibenclamide, on cultured smooth muscle cells from Brown Norway rat aorta. All tested potassium channel openers increased mRNAs encoding proteins and enzymes involved in elastic fiber formation, whereas glibenclamide had the opposite effect. The higher steady-state level of tropoelastin mRNA in minoxidil-treated cells was attributable to an increase in both transcription and mRNA stability. Treatment of Brown Norway rats for 10 weeks with minoxidil or diazoxide increased elastic fiber content and decreased cell number in the aortic media, without changing collagen content. The minoxidil-induced cardiac hypertrophy was reduced when animals simultaneously received irbesartan, an angiotensin II-receptor antagonist. This side effect of minoxidil was not observed in diazoxide-treated animals. In conclusion, diazoxide, causing less undesirable side effects than minoxidil, or coadministration of minoxidil and irbesartan, increases elastic fiber content, decreases cell number in the aorta and, thus, could be suitable for treating vascular pathologies characterized by diminished arterial elastin content and simultaneous hypertension.

Differential expression of lysyl oxidases LOXL1 and LOX during growth and aging suggests specific roles in elastin and collagen fiber remodeling in rat aorta.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in vascular tissue structure, maintenance, and function. Lysyl oxidases catalyze a key step in the posttranslational cross-linking of elastin and collagens in the ECM. Gene knockout studies in mice suggested a role for lysyl oxidase-like (LOXL1) in adult elastin synthesis and a role for its isoform, lysyl oxidase (LOX), in the synthesis of both collagens and elastin during development. However, the relative expression of both isoforms as a function of age is not known and was therefore investigated here. LOX and LOXL1 immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR were performed during development, growth and aging in the aorta of LOU and Brown-Norway (BN) rats, two inbred strains with different susceptibilities to arterial fragility. In addition, expression of genes encoding for elastic fiber proteins and type I collagen, together with elastin and collagen contents, was measured in adult and old rat aortas. High aortic LOX expression was observed early in the development (embryonic day 15), followed by a drastic reduction in adulthood, whereas LOXL1 was mainly detectable in the intima and media; its expression was maintained throughout life in the LOU rat. Expression of tropoelastin, type-I collagen, and LOXL1 genes was reduced in the aorta of 6-week-old BN rats. Aging is characterized by a decreased elastin/collagen ratio and a greatly decreased expression of LOX, tropoelastin, and type-I collagen. These findings indicate a different spatial and temporal expression of LOX and LOXL1 during growth and aging in the rat aorta and suggest specific roles for LOX and LOXL1 in the synthesis and remodeling of elastic and collagen fibers.