title: Pressure-induced vascular oxidative stress is mediated through activation of integrin-linked kinase 1/betaPIX/Rac-1 pathway.
abstract: High blood pressure induces a mechanical stress on vascular walls and evokes oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to characterize the intracellular signaling causing vascular oxidative stress in response to pressure. In carotid arteries subjected to high pressure levels, we observed not only an impaired vasorelaxation, increased superoxide production, and NADPH oxidase activity, but also a concomitant activation of Rac-1, a small G protein. Selective inhibition of Rac-1, with an adenovirus carrying a dominant-negative Rac-1 mutant, significantly reduced NADPH oxidase activity and oxidative stress and, more importantly, rescued vascular function in carotid arteries at high pressure. The analysis of molecular events associated with mechanotransduction demonstrated at high pressure levels an overexpression of integrin-linked kinase 1 and its recruitment to plasma membrane interacting with paxillin. The inhibition of integrin-linked kinase 1 by small interfering RNA impaired Rac-1 activation and rescued oxidative stress-induced vascular dysfunction in response to high pressure. Finally, we showed that betaPIX, a guanine-nucleotide exchange factor, is the intermediate molecule recruited by integrin-linked kinase 1, converging the intracellular signaling toward Rac-1-mediated oxidative vascular dysfunction during pressure overload. Our data demonstrate that biomechanical stress evoked by high blood pressure triggers an integrin-linked kinase 1/betaPIX/Rac-1 signaling, thus generating oxidative vascular dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Angio-Cardio-Neurology, Neuromed Institute Istituto Di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Pozzilli, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vecchione
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carnevale
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Pardo
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damato
authors.forename: Germana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cocozza
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antenucci
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mascio
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bettarini
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Landolfi
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iorio
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maffei
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lembo
mesh_terms: D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051419:Paxillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099200:Scaffold Protein ILK
chemical_list: D051419:Paxillin; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; D000099200:Scaffold Protein ILK