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Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
Published on: May 31, 2016
CHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE IN VITRO CALCIFICATION OF AORTA
G R Martin1, E Schiffmann, H A Bladen
1National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
The Journal of Cell Biology
|October 30, 2009
Summary
Rat aortas mineralize with calcium and phosphate, forming hydroxyapatite crystals primarily in elastin. Elastin is essential for this calcification process, which involves serum changes like inhibitor destruction and increased dialyzable calcium.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Biomaterials Science
- Histology
Background:
- Vascular calcification is a pathological process involving calcium and phosphate deposition in tissues.
- The specific roles of aortic components like elastin and collagen in initiating calcification are not fully understood.
- Serum factors influencing in vitro tissue mineralization require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mineralization process in rat aortas incubated in vitro with rat serum.
- To identify the specific calcium-phosphate phase formed and its localization within the aortic tissue.
- To determine the role of aortic structural components, particularly elastin and collagen, in the initiation and progression of mineralization.
Main Methods:
- In vitro incubation of rat aortas with rat serum.
- X-ray diffraction, microradiography, electron diffraction, and electron microscopy for tissue analysis.
- Proteolytic enzyme treatment to selectively degrade aortic components (elastin, collagen).
Main Results:
- Rat aortas accumulated significant calcium and phosphate after a lag period in rat serum.
- The deposited calcium-phosphate phase was identified as hydroxyapatite.
- Hydroxyapatite crystals were predominantly localized within the elastin component of the aorta.
- Elastin was found to be essential for mineralization, while collagen was not required for initiation.
- The lag period involved the destruction of serum inhibitors and an increase in dialyzable calcium.
Conclusions:
- Elastin is a critical matrix component required for the in vitro mineralization of rat aortas.
- The mineralization process involves hydroxyapatite formation localized within elastin.
- Serum undergoes preparatory changes, including inhibitor inactivation and increased calcium availability, prior to tissue mineralization.
