[Relationship between proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and PDGF-AA and PDGFR-alpha expression in SHRs]

To explore the role of platelet derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA) and PDGFR-alpha expression in the proliferation and hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in spontaneously hypertension rats (SHR), protein expression of PDGF-AA, PDGFR-alpha and PDGFR-beta in SHR/Wistar-Kyoto (WKY)-VSMC was observed by Western blot. Proliferation and hypertrophy of SHR-VSMCs induced by PDGF-AA were observed by measurement of PCNA and [(3)H] incorporation. PDGF-AA and PDGFR-alpha expression was markedly increased in SHR-VSMCs compared with that in WKY-VSMCs, but PDGFR-beta was not different in SHR and WKY-VSMCs. PDGF-AA induced PCNA expression and [(3)H] incorporation was increased in a dose-dependent manner in SHR, but not in WKY. It is suggested that an enhancement of PDGF-AA and PDGFR-alpha in SHRs may be one of the important factors for vascular modeling.