1. ¹Division of Clinical Gene Therapy, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
2. ²Second Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan
3. ³Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
4. ⁴Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
5. ⁵Ono Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, Osaka, Japan
6. ⁶Division of Gene Therapy Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
7. ⁷Department of Pharmacy, Osaka University Hospital, Osaka, Japan

Correspondence: Dr R Morishita, Division of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Japan

⁸These authors contributed equally to this work

Received 6 July 2004; Accepted 19 January 2005; Published online 31 March 2005.

Abstract

The pathophysiology of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is considered to be complicated. As matrix degradation contributes to the progression of AAA, the destruction and degradation of elastin fibers caused by an increase in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) plays a pivotal role in the development of AAA. Although ets, an essential transcription factor for angiogenesis, regulates MMPs, the role of ets in the development of AAA has not yet been clarified. Thus, we evaluated the role of ets in a rat AAA model using a decoy strategy. Transfection of ODN into AAA was performed by transient aortic perfusion of elastase and by wrapping the AAA in a delivery sheet containing decoy ODN. The inhibitory effect of ets decoy ODN on ets binding activity was confirmed by gel mobility shift assay. MMPs expression was decreased in the aorta transfected with ets decoy ODN as compared to scrambled decoy ODN. Also, ultrasound study demonstrated that elastase-induced aneurismal dilation was significantly suppressed by transfection of ets decoy ODN at 4 weeks after treatment as compared to scrambled decoy ODN. Moreover, the destruction of elastin fibers was inhibited in the aorta transfected with ets decoy ODN, accompanied by a reduction of MMPs expression. An inhibitory effect of decoy ODN on MMP expression was confirmed by ex vivo experiments showing that transfection of decoy ODN into an organ culture of human aorta resulted in significant inhibition of the secretion of both MMP-1 and MMP-9. Here, we demonstrated that ets may play a pivotal role in the progression of AAA through the activation of MMPs in a rat model. Ets might be a potential target to develop pharmacotherapy/gene therapy to treat AAA through the inhibition of MMPs.