Osteoglycin expression and localization in rabbit tissues and atherosclerotic plaques

The localization of osteoglycin (OG), one of the corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycans, was studied in different normal rabbit tissues, as well as in atherosclerotic lesions, by means of in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. OG was associated with the vasculature of all the organs analyzed. Normal aortas showed abundance of the protein in the adventitia and focally in the media. Peripheral vessels showed OG localized only in the adventitia. OG mRNA was restricted to vascular smooth muscle cells, pericytes, and fibroblasts in aorta and skeletal muscle. In striated muscle, OG was abundant and distributed in foci around muscles and vessels, whereas in visceral muscle, the protein was homogeneously distributed throughout the extracellular matrix. In all the other organs studied, OG was only associated with the vasculature, with the exception of the lung and liver. In these two organs, the protein accumulated also around cartilage, alveoli, and hepatic duct. In atherosclerotic lesions, OG mRNA was down-regulated in the media and up-regulated in the activated endothelium and thick neo-intima, whereas the protein accumulated in the front edge of migrating smooth muscle cells. We conclude that OG is a basic component of the vascular extracellular matrix. OG also plays a role in atherosclerosis, and might be useful for therapeutic interventions. In addition, the possible involvement of OG in maintaining physical properties of tissues is discussed.