Pulmonary arterial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition induced by hypoxia / 局解手术学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition and investigate the role of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) in the process. Methods Pulmonary arterial cells improved by adherence method were cultured in normoxia (containing 21%O2,5%CO2 and 74%N2) or hypoxia (containing 1%O2,5%CO2 and 94%N2) for 1,4,or 7 days,respectively. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition was confirmed with morphological observation and expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) by immunocytochemistry. Expression of TGF-β1 was evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blot,and α-SMA by Western blot. Results Hypoxia-induced paving-stone-like pulmonary arterial endothelial cells transdifferentiating to polygonal cells with high-expression of α-SMA. TGF-β1 expression was increased significantly after 7 days of hypoxia. TGF-β1 stimulating alone increasedα-SMA expression of pulmonary arterial en-dothelial cells;while,SD-208,inhibitor of TGF-β1,abolished the above effect. Conclusion Hypoxia can induce endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. And TGF-β1 plays an important role in the process.