Abstract

BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus is associated with a substantial increase in the prevalence of atherosclerotic disease. There are many factors which are involved in development of these processes. Transforming growth factor (TGF-beta) is known to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complications. TGF-beta-induced gene-h3 (beta ig-h3) is an adhesive molecule whose expression is induced by TGF-beta. Considering that TGF-beta plays an important role in diabetic complications and that beta ig-h3 is induced by TGF-beta, we hypothesized that beta ig-h3 may also play a role in the development of diabetic angiopathy. Then, we examined the effects of beta ig-h3 on biologic function of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and potential roles of beta ig-h3 in the pathognesis of diabetic angiopathy. METHODS: VSMCs were isolated from rat thoracic aorta. We conditioned cells with different concentration of TGF-beta or glucose. We measured TGF-beta and beta ig-h3 protein in cell supernatant by ELISA. We also examined whether TGF-beta involves in high glucose-induced beta ig-h3 expression. Finally, we did proliferation, migration, and adhesion assay to investigate biologic function of beta ig-h3 in VSMCs. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that TGF-beta induced beta ig-h3 expression in VSMCs in dose dependent manners. High glucose induced TGF expression as well as beta ig-h3 protein. Finally, beta ig-h3 was found to support the proliferation, migration, and adhesion of rat VSMCs. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that high glucose-and TGF-beta-induced beta ig-h3 may play an important role in diabetic angiopathy by regulating proliferation, migration, and adhesion of VSMCs.

• Keywords: TGF-beta;High glucose;ig-h3;Vascular smooth muscle cells;Proliferation;Migration;Adhesion;Diabetic angiopathy