Expression of tropomyosin 2 in aortic dissection tissue / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To investigate the expression pattern of tropomyosin 2(TPM2) in aorta of patients with aortic dissection and explore its clinical implication. Methods: Thirteen cases with acute type A aortic dissection(TAAD) diagnosed by transabdominal aortic angiography from 2015 in Tongji Hospital were included. During the operation, the aortic wall tissues of these patients were collected. Ten patients with heart transplantation were selected as control group, and normal aortic wall tissues were taken. The hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Verhoeff's Van Gieson (EVG) staining were performed to observe the morphological changes of aorta. The mRNA expression level of TPM2 was measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative-PCR, and the protein levels of TPM2 were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Image The J software was used to collect the optical density values of each point on the image, obtain the integrated optical density(IOD) value, and calculate the average density(%, IOD/area of the target distribution area). Results: HE and EVG staining revealed medial degeneration and broken elastic fiber in aorta of TAAD patients. The mRNA expression levels of TPM2 were significantly upregulated in aorta of TAAD patients as compared to the control group (P<0.05), so as the TPM2 protein expression levels ((9.73±1.20)% vs. (0.11±0.04)%, P<0.05). And TPM2 was mainly expressed in cytoplasm. Conclusion: The increased expression of TPM2 in TAAD patients hints that TPM2 might be involved in the pathogenesis of aortic dissection.

Effect of angiopeptin and aspirin on accelerated graft atherosclerosis in transplanted mouse heart

In this study of the inhibitory effects of angiopeptin and aspirin on the development of accelerated graft atherosclerosis (AGAS), 22 B10.BR mice received intra-abdominal heterotopic heart transplants from B10.A mice, without immunosuppression. Group 1 (n = 5) received no pharmacological intervention, Group 2 (n = 6) was treated with angiopeptin, Group 3 (n = 5) with aspirin, and Group 4 (n = 6) with both. There was no significant difference in the incidence of AGAS among these groups. The magnitude of intimal lesion development showed less narrowing of large vessels (> 100 microns in diameter) in groups 2 and 4--i.e. the groups received angiopeptin (Group 1 = 46.9 +/- 9.3%, Group 2 = 28.5 +/- 9.2%, Group 3 = 44.1 +/- 10.9%, Group 4 = 24.2 +/- 5.9%; p < 0.01). Comparison of the fraction of tropomyosin-positive staining cells in the intima revealed a lesser degree of staining in Group 2 (p < 0.01). No intervention was effective in preventing smooth muscle cell proliferation in the media or inflammatory cell infiltration in the adventitia. In conclusion, our data suggest that angiopeptin is effective in the direct inhibition of intimal smooth muscle cell proliferation in relatively large vessels, whereas aspirin exhibits no inhibitory role in the progression of AGAS. Angiopeptin appears to be a potential therapeutic agent for inhibiting the progression of postoperative AGAS in clinical heart transplantation.