title: Adenovirus-Mediated Overexpression of Septin 2 Attenuates α-Smooth Muscle Actin Expression and Adventitial Myofibroblast Migration Induced by Angiotensin II.
abstract: Phenotypic transformation from adventitial fibroblasts (AFs) to myofibroblasts (MFs) is critical for vascular remodeling. Septin 2 was found to be downregulated during the differentiation of AFs to MFs induced by angiotensin II (Ang II); however, the role of septin 2 in this process is still unknown. In this study, we investigate whether septin 2 contributes to the adventitial MF phenotypic modulation caused by Ang II. The decreased level of septin 2 and the increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a marker of MFs, were readily observed in Ang II-stimulated MF differentiation. After gene transfer of septin 2, the expression of α-SMA was markedly decreased and the MF migration response to Ang II was inhibited. Furthermore, the inhibition of RhoA, another molecule involved in MF phenotypic modulation, decreased the motility of MFs and the expression of septin 2 triggered in Ang II. Finally, transfection of septin 2 rescued the level of acetyl-α-tubulin in MFs. These findings demonstrate that, as a downstream molecule of RhoA, septin 2 blunted the responses of AFs to Ang II by protecting α-tubulin acetylation, which suggests that septin 2 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for vascular injury.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Hypertension, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Jie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ling-Yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Guan-Nan
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wen-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ping-Jin
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D063194:Adventitia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D008297:Male; D058628:Myofibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D058112:Septins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D000804:Angiotensin II; D058112:Septins; D014404:Tubulin; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein; C498862:Acta2 protein, rat