title: Crucial role of ROCK2 in vascular smooth muscle cells for hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rho/Rho-kinase (ROCK) pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Rho-kinase has 2 isoforms, ROCK1 and ROCK2, with different functions in different cells; ROCK1 for circulating inflammatory cells and ROCK2 for the vasculature. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether ROCK2 in VSMC is involved in the pathogenesis of PAH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients with PAH, the expression of ROCK2 was increased in pulmonary arterial media and primary pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells when compared with controls. To investigate the role of ROCK2 in VSMC, we generated VSMC-specific heterozygous ROCK2-deficient (ROCK2(+/-)) mice and VSMC-specific ROCK2-overexpressing transgenic (ROCK2-Tg) mice. The extent of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension was reduced in ROCK2(+/-) mice and was enhanced in ROCK2-Tg mice compared with respective littermates. The protein expression of ROCK activity and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase and the number of Ki67-positive proliferating cells in the lung were reduced in ROCK2(+/-) mice and were increased in ROCK2-Tg mice compared with respective littermates. In cultured mouse aortic VSMC, migration and proliferation activities were reduced in ROCK2(+/-) mice, and migration activity was increased in ROCK2-Tg mice compared with respective littermates. In addition, in primary pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells from a patient with PAH, ROCK2 was required for migration and proliferation through ROCK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ROCK2 in VSMC contributes to the pathogenesis of PAH.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukumoto
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kimio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Shohei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimokawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D065627:Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000201:enzymology; D034622:RNA Interference; D013997:Time Factors; D014162:Transfection; D055815:Young Adult; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; C515852:ROCK2 protein, human; C515855:Rock2 protein, mouse; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
keywords: hypertension, pulmonary; muscle, smooth, vascular; rho-associated kinase