title: Age differences in the proliferative response of cultured arterial smooth muscle cells induced by sera of hypothalamically-stimulated rats.
abstract: In an earlier report, it was shown that arterial smooth muscle cells (ASMC) cultured from normal rat aorta, proliferated in response to homologous sera from young rats which had received hypothalamic stimulation (HS), in contrast to the effect of sera from non-stimulated age-matched controls (sham-operated). In the present study, this proliferative response was compared in young and old rats. Isolated target cells were subcultured from primary explants of aortic tissue obtained from young, male, Fischer 344 rats, which were electrode-implanted in the hypothalamus but not stimulated. After an initial quiescence period (growth arrest), target cells were exposed to plasma derived serum (PDS) from 4 experimental groups: young stimulated rats; young sham-operated controls; aged stimulated rats and aged sham-operated controls, at PDS concentrations of 2.5% and 5.0% and counted at days 2 and 5. Proliferative responses of ASMC were found to be influenced by concentration of the PDS, age of the donor animal contributing the serum and the presence of HS. The greatest responses were observed in relation to sera derived from aged stimulated rats, especially at the higher concentration, suggesting an interaction of HS with advanced age. These results are discussed in reference to their possible bearing on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York Medical College, Valhalla 10595.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Gutstein
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Y N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ore
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000166:cytology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344