Apoptosis and Cell Proliferation Markers in Inflammatory-Fibroproliferative Diseases of the Vessel Wall (Review)

Abstract

Apoptosis is the main feature of inflammatory-fibroproliferative disorders of the vessel wall. Studies in animal models have shown that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) cultured from endarterectomy specimens from the affected area proliferate more slowly and display higher apoptotic indices than SMCs derived from the normal vessel wall. Apoptotic cells were found in the destabilized atherosclerotic plaques, as well as in the samples with restenosis of the reconstruction area. Injury to the vessel wall causes two waves of apoptosis. The first wave is the rapid apoptosis in the media that occurs within a few hours after injury and leads to a marked reduction in the number of vascular wall cells. The second wave of apoptosis occurs much later (from several days to weeks) and is limited by the SMCs within the developing neointima. Up to 14% of the neointimal SMCs undergo apoptosis 20 days after balloon angioplasty. Ligation of the external carotid artery in a rabbit model led to a marked decrease in blood flow in the common carotid artery, which correlated with the increased apoptosis of endothelial cells and SMCs. Angioplasty-induced death of SMCs is regulated by a redox-sensitive signaling pathway, and topical administration of antioxidants can minimize vascular cell loss. On the whole, studies show that apoptosis is prevalent in vascular lesions, controlling the viability of both inflammatory and vascular cells, determining the cellular composition of the vessel wall. The main markers of apoptosis (Fas, Fas ligand, p53, Bcl-2, Bax) and cell proliferation (toll receptor) have been considered in the current review.

Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Release miR-378a-5p-Carried Extracellular Vesicles to Alleviate Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…It is well known that the upregulation of N-cadherin [ 51 , 52 ], BCL-2 [ 53 ], Ki67, PCNA [ 54 ], and YAP [ 55 ] levels in cells often signifies increased cell proliferation, while VEGFA is associated with angiogenesis, with upregulated VEGFA indicating accelerated angiogenesis [ 56 ]. Conversely, the upregulation of E-cadherin [ 57 ] and Bax [ 58 ] levels suggest inhibited cell proliferation. Based on these observations, our experimental results demonstrated that compared to the control group, HSMECs in the EVs-mimic NC and EVs-inhibitor NC groups exhibited significantly increased proliferation, migration, and blood vessel formation (branch points and total tube length/quantity), as well as elevated protein expression levels of N-cadherin, Bcl-2, Ki67, PCNA, YAP, and VEGFA, and decreased protein expression levels of E-cadherin and Bax.…”