MURC/Cavin-4 deficiency exacerbates abdominal aortic aneurysm

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26860580
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cardiovascular medicine
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Miyagawa Kotaro 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (60725612)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 腹部大動脈瘤

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We showed the role of MURC (muscle-restricted coiled-coil protein)/Cavin-4 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and AAA development. Wild-type and MURC knockout (MURC-/-) mice were subjected to periaortic application of CaCl2 to induce AAA. Six weeks after CaCl2 treatment, internal and external aortic diameters were significantly increased in MURC-/- AAA compared with WT AAA, which was accompanied by increased fibrosis in the tunica media of MURC-/- AAA. JNK and matrix metalloproteinase-2 activities were increased in MURC－/－ AAA compared with WT AAA. TNFα-induced JNK activation was enhanced in MURC-knockdown VSMCs compared with control VSMCs. Furthermore, WT, MURC-/-, apolipoprotein E-/- (ApoE-/-), and MURC and ApoE double-knockout (MURC-/-ApoE-/-) mice were subjected to angiotensin II infusion. Four weeks after angiotensin II infusion, the internal aortic diameter was significantly increased in MURC-/-ApoE-/- mice compared with ApoE-/- mice and MURC-/- mice.

Free Research Field

循環器内科学