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Contribution Of Nrf2 To Atherogenic Phenotype Switching Of Coronary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells Lacking Cd38 Gene, Ming Xu, Xiao-Xue Li, Lei Wang, Mi Wang, Yang Zhang, Pin-Lan Li

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Background/Aims: Recent studies have indicated that CD38 gene deficiency results in dedifferentiation or transdifferentiation of arterial smooth muscle cells upon atherogenic stimulations. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating this vascular smooth muscle (SMC) phenotypic switching remain unknown. Methods & Results: In the present study, we first characterized the phenotypic change in the primary cultures of coronary arterial myocytes (CAMs) from CD38-/- mice. It was shown that CD38 deficiency decreased the expression of contractile marker calponin, SM22α and α-SMA but increased the expression of SMC dedifferentiation marker, vimentin, which was accompanied by enhanced cell proliferation. This phenotypic change in CD38-/- CAMs was …