Type VIII collagen is a product of vascular smooth-muscle cells in development and disease.
Type VIII collagen is a short-chain collagen with considerable similarity to type X collagen. We have generated chain-specific antibodies to the alpha 1 and alpha 2 chains of type VIII collagen, and used them as probes to examine the synthesis of type VIII collagen by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). In addition, chain-specific oligonucleotides have been used in reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) reactions with RNA extracted from cultured smooth muscle cells in culture and from freshly isolated vascular tissues. Radiolabelling of VSMC in culture and immunoprecipitation with chain-specific antibodies showed that both chains were expressed. Lower levels of type VIII collagen were found in adult VSMC than in neonatal VSMC. RT-PCR showed that both chains were expressed in tissues as well as cells in culture. The results indicate that type VIII collagen is a product of VSMC of normal adult vessels and is expressed at high levels by VSMC in vascular lesions.
MacBeath
J R
JR
Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, University of Manchester, School of Biological Sciences, U.K.
Kielty
C M
CM
Shuttleworth
C A
CA
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D010434:Pepsin A / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013398:Sudden Infant Death; D013552:Swine
D017931:DNA Primers; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D003094:Collagen; D010434:Pepsin A