Caplice NM, Bunch TJ, Stalboerger PG, Wang S, Simper D, Miller DV, Russell SJ, Litzow MR, Edwards WD. Smooth muscle cells in human coronary atherosclerosis can originate from cells administered at marrow transplantation.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003;
100:4754-9. [PMID:
12665618 PMCID:
PMC153628 DOI:
10.1073/pnas.0730743100]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 283] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is the major cause of adult mortality in the developed world, and a significant contributor to atherosclerotic plaque progression involves smooth muscle cell recruitment to the intima of the vessel wall. Controversy currently exists on the exact origin of these recruited cells. Here we use sex-mismatched bone marrow transplant subjects to show that smooth muscle cells throughout the atherosclerotic vessel wall can derive from donor bone marrow. We demonstrate extensive recruitment of these cells in diseased compared with undiseased segments and exclude cell-cell fusion events as a cause for this enrichment. These data have broad implications for our understanding of the cellular components of human atherosclerotic plaque and provide a potentially novel target for future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
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