Implication of bone regulatory factors in human coronary artery calcification

Alexandros Alexopoulos; Stavros Peroukides; Vasiliki Bravou; John Varakis; Vlassios Pyrgakis; Helen Papadaki

doi:10.1016/j.artres.2011.06.003

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Volume 5, Issue 3, September 2011, Pages 101 - 108

Implication of bone regulatory factors in human coronary artery calcification

Authors

Alexandros Alexopoulos^a, Stavros Peroukides^a, Vasiliki Bravou^a, John Varakis^a, Vlassios Pyrgakis^b, Helen Papadaki^a^{, *}

^aDepartment of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Greece, Rio, Patras 26500, Greece

^bDepartment of Cardiology, General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”, Greece, Athens 11527, Greece

^*Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 261 099 2391; fax: +30 261 099 7886. E-mail address: akalexop@gmail.com (H. Papadaki).

Corresponding Author

Helen Papadaki

Received 29 April 2011, Revised 19 June 2011, Accepted 21 June 2011, Available Online 21 July 2011.

DOI: 10.1016/j.artres.2011.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Bone; Coronary; Artery; Calcification
Abstract: Background: Although emerging evidence suggests that vascular calcification constitutes an active process sharing common features with bone formation, several aspects of this process in human coronary artery calcification are still poorly understood. We therefore investigated the expression of key bone regulatory factors in human atherosclerotic coronary arteries.

Methods – Results: Formalin, fixed-paraffin embedded tissue samples of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries (n = 41) and normal arteries as controls (n = 9) were studied immunohistochemically for the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG), RANKL, RANK, Runx2, Sox9, NFATc1 and Osterix (Osx). All factors where expressed in atherosclerotic lesions while absent in normal arteries, with the exception of OPG. While expression of NFATc1 and Osx was confined to tunica intima of diseased arteries, the others factors were expressed in both tunica intima and tunica media. Most factors were expressed in smooth muscle-like cells of tunica intima while NFATc1 and the OPG/RANKL/RANK system were also expressed in inflammatory cells. Wheareas expression of OPG and RANKL was invariable, expression of RANK, Runx2, Sox9, Osx and NFATc1 was significantly higher in advanced calcified lesions. Significant correlations were also observed among the bone regulatory factors in atherosclerotic arteries.

Conclusions: Our results confirm the hypothesis that highly regulated osteogenic processes are involved in the mineralization of human coronary arteries and implicate the bone regulatory factors Osx and NFATc1 in coronary artery calcification.
Copyright: © 2011 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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Journal: Artery Research
Volume-Issue: 5 - 3
Pages: 101 - 108
Publication Date: 2011/07/21
ISSN (Online): 1876-4401
ISSN (Print): 1872-9312
DOI: 10.1016/j.artres.2011.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Alexandros Alexopoulos
AU  - Stavros Peroukides
AU  - Vasiliki Bravou
AU  - John Varakis
AU  - Vlassios Pyrgakis
AU  - Helen Papadaki
PY  - 2011
DA  - 2011/07/21
TI  - Implication of bone regulatory factors in human coronary artery calcification
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 101
EP  - 108
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2011.06.003
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2011.06.003
ID  - Alexopoulos2011
ER  -

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