Effect of vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin on cardiac allograft vasculopathy and fibrosis / 中南大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effect of vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin(VSMA-alpha) on cardiac allograft vasculopathy and fibrosis.@*METHODS@#After heterotopic cardiac transplantation model was established, the rats were divided into an acute rejection group, a chronic rejection group, an isograft group, and a normal group. Van Gieson staining and Massonos trichrome staining were used to observe the cardiac allograft vasculopathy and fibrosis respectively, and immunohistochemical stainings were used to examine VSM-alpha expression.@*RESULTS@#The fibrosis score of the normal group, the isograft group, the acute rejection group and the chronic rejection group were 0.00+/-0.00, 0.63+/-0.52, 1.75+/-0.71, and 2.75+/-0.46, respectively. The fibrosis score of the chronic rejection group increased significantly as compared with that of the normal group and the isograft group (both P<0.01), the indexes of coronary arteries stenosis were 0.08+/-0.02, 0.09+/-0.04, 0.12+/-0.05, and 62.86+/-17.18, respectively. The stenosis index in the chronic rejection group increased significantly as compared with that of all the other groups (P<0.01).VSMA-alpha was abundant in the allograft myocardium in the chronic rejection group.@*CONCLUSION@#Reactivation of fetal structural genes of vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin and its ectopic expression is associated with the cardiac allograft vasculopathy and fibrosis.