Isabella Albanese, Stella S. Daskalopoulou, Bin Yu, Zhipeng You, Jacques Genest, Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Adel G. Schwertani
Abstract
The aims of the present study were to determine the expression of urotensin II (UII), urotensin-II related peptide (URP), and their receptor (UT) in stable and unstable carotid atherosclerosis, and determine the effects of UII on human aortic smooth muscle cell (SMCs) calcification.
We examined UII, URP, and UT protein expression in 88 carotid endarterectomy specimens using immunohistochemistry. Expression of UII, URP, and UT was more evident in unstable compared to stable plaques (P < 0.05). Multivariate Spearman correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations between UII, URP and UT overall staining and presence of calcification, severity of stenosis and inflammation (P < 0.05). Subjects undergoing carotid endarterectomy had significantly higher plasma UII levels, as assessed by ELISA, when compared with normolipidemic healthy control subjects (P < 0.05). Incubation of human aortic SMCs cultured in phosphate media with varying concentrations of UII resulted in a significant increase in calcium deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity. UII also significantly increased β-catenin translocation and expression of ALPL, BMP2, ON, and SOX9 (P < 0.05). Incubation of cells with phosphate medium alone increased the expression of the pre-UT and mature UT (P < 0.01), and addition of UII had a synergistic effect on pre-UT protein expression (P < 0.001) compared to phosphate medium alone.
Upregulation of UII, URP, and UT in unstable carotid endarterectomy plaques and plasma, and the stimulatory effect of UII on vascular smooth muscle cell calcification suggest that the UII system may play a role in the pathogenesis of vascular calcification and stability of atherosclerosis.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
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Psychology
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Engineering
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Other
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Unknown
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Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 January 2019.
All research outputs
#3,208,735
of 22,876,619 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in Pharmacology
#1,400
of 16,167 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#59,136
of 341,017 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Pharmacology
#15
of 116 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,876,619 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 85th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 16,167 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.9. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 116 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its contemporaries.
