title: Molecular Pathways Regulating Macrovascular Pathology and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Phenotype in Type 2 Diabetes.
abstract: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a disease reaching a pandemic proportion in developed countries and a major risk factor for almost all cardiovascular diseases and their adverse clinical manifestations. T2DM leads to several macrovascular and microvascular alterations that influence the progression of cardiovascular diseases. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are fundamental players in macrovascular alterations of T2DM patients. VSMCs display phenotypic and functional alterations that reflect an altered intracellular biomolecular scenario of great vessels of T2DM patients. Hyperglycemia itself and through intraparietal accumulation of advanced glycation-end products (AGEs) activate different pathways, in particular nuclear factor-κB and MAPKs, while insulin and insulin growth-factor receptors (IGFR) are implicated in the activation of Akt and extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2. Nuclear factor-κB is also responsible of increased susceptibility of VSMCs to pro-apoptotic stimuli. Down-regulation of insulin growth-factor 1 receptors (IGFR-1R) activity in diabetic vessels also influences negatively miR-133a levels, so increasing apoptotic susceptibility of VSMCs. Alterations of those bimolecular pathways and related genes associate to the prevalence of a synthetic phenotype of VSMCs induces extracellular matrix alterations of great vessels. A better knowledge of those biomolecular pathways and related genes in VSMCs will help to understand the mechanisms leading to macrovascular alterations in T2DM patients and to suggest new targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Institute of Anatomic Pathology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome 00133, Italy. sara.casella87@icloud.com.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casella
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Institute of Anatomic Pathology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome 00133, Italy. alessandrabielli@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bielli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Institute of Anatomic Pathology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome 00133, Italy. alessandro.mauriello@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauriello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Institute of Anatomic Pathology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome 00133, Italy. orlandi@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orlandi
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000473:pathology; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000378:metabolism*; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D007328:Insulin; C548234:MIRN133 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D016328:NF-kappa B; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
keywords: Akt; apoptosis; atherosclerosis; diabetes; nuclear factor-κB; phenotypic changes