Bcl-2 and p53 protein expression in aortic, mammary artery and saphenous vein biopsies in patients subjected to open heart surgery.
BACKGROUND
Stenosis of vascular grafts is a common phenomenon after coronary by-pass surgery and factors favoring stenosis are incompletely understood. The present study is a prospective clinicopathological study on the relationship between factors controlling cell proliferation (p53) and programmed cell death (bcl-2) in patients suffering from atherosclerotic heart diseases.


METHODS
The expression of p53 and bcl-2 proteins was analyzed in samples obtained from the aortic wall, internal mammary artery, and saphenous veins in 96 patients subjected to open heart surgery.


METHODS
The expression of p53 and bcl-2 proteins in vascular channel intima and media was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.


RESULTS
The expression of bcl-2 was more common in males than in females (p = 0.05). The expression of bcl-2 was significantly more common (p = 0.004) in venous intima in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes than in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes or with no diabetes. Expression of p53 was related to insulin-dependent diabetes in venous intima with a borderline significance (p = 0.08).


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that bcl-2 and p53 are expressed in vessel walls and may be related to potential risk of stenosis of vascular grafts particularly in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Aaltomaa
S
S
Department of Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland.
Hippeläinen
M
M
Lipponen
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53