title: Vesicle-associated protein-A is differentially expressed during intestinal smooth muscle cell differentiation.
abstract: Gastrointestinal (GI) smooth muscle diseases represent a major health concern affecting in excess of 2 million people each year. Little is currently known regarding the molecular mechanisms controlling either normal or pathogenic GI smooth muscle development. In an effort to identify the specific gene products responsible for modulating GI smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation, we performed differential display on distinct intestinal SMC (ISMC) phenotypes. This analysis identified over 40 unique transcripts that appeared to be differentially expressed in distinct SMC phenotypes. One such transcript that appeared to be preferentially expressed in immature smooth muscle myocytes was identified as vesicle-associated membrane protein, associated protein A (VAP-A). Northern blot analysis confirmed that VAP-A was expressed threefold higher in immature smooth muscle myocytes when compared with both smooth muscle myoblasts and mature smooth muscle myocytes. VAP-A mRNA was differentially expressed during normal rat development and showed peak levels of expression in the intestine during late embryogenesis and early neonatal development. These observations provide the first evidence that VAP-A-mediated membrane trafficking may play an important role in modulating ISMC differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Vijayalakshmi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gabetta
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Trzyna
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phiel
authors.forename: Kirk M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McHugh
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018388:Codon, Terminator; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D007422:Intestines / Q000166:cytology; D007930:Leucine / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D024510:Muscle Development; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018388:Codon, Terminator; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A; D007930:Leucine