J Korean Surg Soc.  2002 Jan;62(1):1-7.

Effect of Mycophenolic Acid on Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Its Signal Transduction

• Park JH
• Ha HJ
• Kim MS
• Seo JY
• Kim HJ
• Park KI
• Kim YS

Abstract

PURPOSE: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) migration and proliferation play important roles in chronic allograft rejection. Mycophenolic acid (MPA) inhibits the proliferation of VSMCs, glomerular mesangial cells and fibroblasts as well as lymphocytes. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) play important roles in the proliferation of VSMCs, the present study examined the effects of MPA on intracellular ROS generation, activation of ERK and p38 MAPK, and the proliferation of VSMCs cultured under platelet derived growth factor (PDGF).
METHODS
Human VSMCs obtained from ATCC were cultured with RPMI-1640 containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Near confluent VSMCs were incubated with serum-free media for 48 hours to arrest and synchronize the cell growth. MPA was administered 1 hour before the addition of PDGF. 5-(and-6)- chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCF)-sensitive intracellular ROS was detected by FACS. Activations of ERK1/ERK2 and p38 MAPK were measured by Western blot analysis. Proliferation of VSMC was assessed by [(3)].
RESULTS
PDGF administered at 10 ng/ml, which induced human VSMCs proliferation, rapidly increased intracellular ROS by 1.6-fold (P<0.05), ERK1/ERK2 activation by 2.1-fold, (P<0.05) and p38 MAPK activation by 1.9-fold (P<0.05), respectively, as compared to the control. MPA 1 and 10nM effectively inhibited PDGF-induced human VSMCs proliferation. MPA also effectively inhibited PDGF-induced intracellular ROS generation as well as ERK1/ERK2 and p38 MAPK activation.
CONCLUSION
The present study suggests that MPA inhibits PDGF-induced human VSMCs proliferation, possibly by inhibiting intracellular ROS generation and the phosphorylation of ERK1/ERK2 and p38 MAPK. H]-thymidine incorporation.

Keyword

Mycophenolic acid; Human vascular smooth muscle cell; Reactive oxygen species; Mitogen-activated protein kinase

MeSH Terms

Allografts
Blotting, Western
Cell Proliferation*
Culture Media, Serum-Free
Fibroblasts
Humans*
Lymphocytes
Mesangial Cells
Muscle, Smooth, Vascular*
Mycophenolic Acid*
p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
Phosphorylation
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor
Protein Kinases
Reactive Oxygen Species
Signal Transduction*
Culture Media, Serum-Free
Mycophenolic Acid
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor
Protein Kinases
Reactive Oxygen Species
p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases