Cytokeratins 8 and 18 in smooth muscle cells. Detection in human coronary artery, peripheral vascular, and vein graft disease and in transplantation-associated arteriosclerosis.
During development of atherosclerotic lesions, vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) undergo changes both phenotypically and in their cytoskeleton composition. An expression of cytokeratins 8 and 18 in SMCs in plaques of the human superficial femoral artery and of cytokeratin 8 in lesions of the aorta was recently described. Since cytokeratins are epithelial markers generally not found in normal adult vascular SMCs, we performed a detailed immunofluorescence microscopy study using a large panel of antibodies against the various cytokeratin polypeptides and other elements of the cytoskeleton. We included lesions of carotid, common and superficial femoral, iliac, and popliteal arteries; the abdominal aorta; and saphenous vein bypass grafts, as well as primary, restenotic, and transplantation-associated lesions of coronary arteries (n = 33). Cytokeratins 8 and 18 were present in myointimal cells of all pathological specimens. Colocalization with smooth muscle alpha-actin identified most cytokeratin-positive cells as SMCs. Only very few cells cosynthesized cytokeratin and desmin, whereas the majority of cytokeratin-positive cells were vimentin-positive. This pattern of cytoskeletal protein synthesis is similar to that found in some fetal and/or neonatal SMCs. These findings suggest that the synthesis of cytokeratins in a subset of SMCs of atherosclerotic lesions is a common phenomenon in coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease as well as graft disease and transplantation-associated arteriosclerosis and that the state of these SMCs is of a "dedifferentiated" fetal type.
Jahn
L
L
Molecular Medicine and Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston Mass.
Kreuzer
J
J
von Hodenberg
E
E
Kübler
W
W
Franke
W W
WW
Allenberg
J
J
Izumo
S
S
D001011:Aorta / Q000737:chemistry; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000737:chemistry; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000737:chemistry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000737:chemistry*; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000737:chemistry; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*
D007633:Keratins