Osteopontin is elevated during neointima formation in rat arteries and is a novel component of human atherosclerotic plaques.
In an earlier report, we used differential cloning to identify genes that might be critical in controlling arterial neointima formation (Giachelli, C., N. Bae, D. Lombardi, M. Majesky, and S. Schwartz. 1991. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 177:867-873). In this study, we sequenced the complete cDNA and conclusively identified one of these genes, 2B7, as rat osteopontin. Using immunochemistry and in situ hybridization, we found that medial smooth muscle cells (SMC) in uninjured arteries contained very low levels of osteopontin protein and mRNA. Injury to either the adult rat aorta or carotid artery using a balloon catheter initiated a qualitatively similar time-dependent increase in both osteopontin protein and mRNA in arterial SMC. Expression was transient and highly localized to neointimal SMC during the proliferative and migratory phases of arterial injury, suggesting a possible role for osteopontin in these processes. In vitro, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), and angiotensin II (AII), all proteins implicated in the rat arterial injury response, elevated osteopontin expression in confluent vascular SMC. Finally, we found that osteopontin was a novel component of the human atherosclerotic plaque found most strikingly associated with calcified deposits. These data implicate osteopontin as a potentially important mediator of arterial neointima formation as well as dystrophic calcification that often accompanies this process.
Giachelli
C M
CM
Department of Pathology SJ-60 University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98195.
Bae
N
N
Almeida
M
M
Denhardt
D T
DT
Alpers
C E
CE
Schwartz
S M
SM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002404:Catheterization; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D053495:Osteopontin; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000494:pharmacology
D010750:Phosphoproteins; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; C506895:SPP1 protein, human; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins; C506897:Spp1 protein, rat; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D053495:Osteopontin; D004247:DNA