Article abstract


Nature Cell Biology 6, 872 - 883 (2004)
Published online: 22 August 2004 | doi:10.1038/ncb1161

Dysregulation of HSG triggers vascular proliferative disorders

Kuang-Hueih Chen1,2, Xiaomei Guo2, Dalong Ma3, Yanhong Guo1, Qian Li1, Dongmei Yang2, Pengfei Li1, Xiaoyan Qiu3, Shaojun Wen1, Rui-Ping Xiao1,2 & Jian Tang1


Vascular proliferative disorders, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis, are the most common causes of severe cardiovascular diseases, but a common molecular mechanism remains elusive. Here, we identify and characterize a novel hyperplasia suppressor gene, named HSG (later re-named rat mitofusin-2). HSG expression was markedly reduced in hyper-proliferative vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from spontaneously hypertensive rat arteries, balloon-injured Wistar Kyoto rat arteries, or ApoE-knockout mouse atherosclerotic arteries. Overexpression of HSG overtly suppressed serum-evoked VSMC proliferation in culture, and blocked balloon injury induced neointimal VSMC proliferation and restenosis in rat carotid arteries. The HSG anti-proliferative effect was mediated by inhibition of ERK/MAPK signalling and subsequent cell-cycle arrest. Deletion of the p21ras signature motif, but not the mitochondrial targeting domain, abolished HSG-induced growth arrest, indicating that rHSG-induced anti-proliferation was independent of mitochondrial fusion. Thus, rHSG functions as a cell proliferation suppressor, whereas dysregulation of rHSG results in proliferative disorders.

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  1. The Institute of Cardiovascular Science & The Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China.
  2. Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
  3. Center for Human Disease Genomics and Department of Immunology, Health Center of Peking University, Beijing 100083, China.

Correspondence to: Rui-Ping Xiao1,2 e-mail: xiaor@grc.nia.nih.gov




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