This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 44/2/191    most recent 01.HYP.0000133692.47754.e5v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Puato, M. Articles by Pauletto, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Puato, M. Articles by Pauletto, P. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Seniors' Health Related Collections Cell biology/structural biology Hypertension - basic studies Smooth muscle proliferation and differentiation

(Hypertension. 2004;44:191.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Prevalence of Fetal-Type Smooth Muscle Cells in the Media of Microvessels From Hypertensive Patients

Massimo Puato; Elisabetta Faggin; Elisabetta Favaretto; Barbara Bertipaglia; Marcello Rattazzi; Damiano Rizzoni; Gian Paolo Gamba; Saverio Sartore; Enrico Agabiti Rosei; Achille Cesare Pessina; Paolo Pauletto

From the Departments of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (M.P., E. Faggin, E. Favaretto, B.B., M.R., A.C.P., P.P.), Pediatry (G.P.G.), and Biomedical Sciences (S.S.), University of Padova; and the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (D.R., E.A.R.), University of Brescia, Italy.

Correspondence to Prof Paolo Pauletto, Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale, Università di Padova Medicina Interna I^, Ospedale Ca’Foncello, Via Ospedale 31100 Treviso, Italy. E-mail ppauletto{at}ulss.tv.it

Significant structural and functional changes in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of microvessels (diameter 30 to 300 µm) occur in hypertension. However, in microvessels of hypertensive patients, the differentiation pattern of SMCs underlying such changes remains undefined. To analyze the differentiation pattern of SMCs (adult, postnatal, or fetal), 49 muscle biopsies (rectus abdominis) were analyzed: 16 from children (aged 11 months to 11 years), 15 from normotensive adults (aged 55 to 74 years), 18 from hypertensive adults (aged 55 to 74 years). Transverse cryosections of specimens were studied by immunocytochemistry using monoclonal antibodies SM-E7 and NM-F6, which recognize smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (MyHC) and A_pla1-like nonmuscle MyHC, respectively. The total number of microvessels was assessed via SM-E7 staining. The number of NM-F6 positive (fetal-type SMC) or negative (adult-type SMC) microvessels was assessed. The number of microvessels per area unit was considerably lower (P<0.0005) in normotensive adults (0.22±0.17) than in children (0.98±0.61). Even more significant reduction was found in hypertensive adults compared with control adults (P=0.013) and children (P<0.0005). The qualitative immunocytochemistry analysis by NM-F6 revealed 2 differentiation patterns of the media layer of microvessels: positive or negative. In hypertensive subjects, the percentage of microvessels positive to NM-F6 was 49.8±35.6%, close to that found in children (50.6±12.6%), whereas in normotensive subjects it was significantly lower (24.4±21.1%). The following conclusions were drawn. (1) The medial layer of microvessels is heterogeneous in terms of SMC differentiation. (2) In hypertension, a prevalence of fetal-type SMCs takes place in microvessels, resembling that of children. Compared with children, a rarefaction of microvessels is present in normotensive adults that is even more remarkable in hypertensive adults.

Key Words: muscle, smooth • hypertension, arterial • arterioles

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. S. Stump, M. T. Hamilton, and J. R. Sowers Effect of Antihypertensive Agents on the Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Mayo Clin. Proc., June 1, 2006; 81(6): 796 - 806. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Pauletto and M. Rattazzi Inflammation and hypertension: the search for a link Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., April 1, 2006; 21(4): 850 - 853. [Full Text] [PDF]