Piao Meihua, Tokunaga Osamu
Department of Pathology and Biodefense, Saga University Faculty of Medicine, Saga 849-8501, Japan.
J Atheroscler Thromb. 2006 Apr;13(2):82-9. doi: 10.5551/jat.13.82.
To date, the glycoprotein endoglin and its receptor complex, formed between TGFbeta and TGFbeta R-2, have been studied in tumor angiogenesis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression profile of endoglin and its receptor complex in human atherosclerotic lesions, and compare it to that in non-atherosclerotic tissues. Twenty-six atherosclerotic lesions and twenty-six non-atherosclerotic aortic tissues were collected from thirty-six autopsy cases. Indirect immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the presence of endoglin, TGFbeta-1, and TGFbeta R-2 proteins in aortic tissues. Endoglin expression was observed in smooth muscle cells (SMC), macrophages and endothelial cells of aortic atherosclerotic lesions. The levels of TGFbeta-1 and TGFbeta R-2 were increased in the intimal matrices, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages, as well as in endothelial cells. The expression levels of endoglin, TGFbeta-1, and TGFbeta R-2 were higher in atherosclerotic lesions than in non-atherosclerotic aortic tissues (p < 0.0001), and there was a correlation among the expression of endoglin, TGFbeta-1, and TGFbeta R-2 in atherosclerotic aortic lesions (p < 0.001). Endoglin or its receptor complex may participate in the atherogenesis.
迄今为止，已对糖蛋白内皮糖蛋白及其在转化生长因子β（TGFβ）和转化生长因子β受体2（TGFβ R-2）之间形成的受体复合物在肿瘤血管生成中的作用进行了研究。本研究的目的是调查内皮糖蛋白及其受体复合物在人类动脉粥样硬化病变中的表达情况，并将其与非动脉粥样硬化组织中的表达情况进行比较。从36例尸检病例中收集了26个动脉粥样硬化病变组织和26个非动脉粥样硬化主动脉组织。采用间接免疫组织化学染色法检测主动脉组织中内皮糖蛋白、TGFβ-1和TGFβ R-2蛋白的存在情况。在主动脉粥样硬化病变的平滑肌细胞（SMC）、巨噬细胞和内皮细胞中观察到了内皮糖蛋白的表达。内膜基质、平滑肌细胞、巨噬细胞以及内皮细胞中的TGFβ-1和TGFβ R-2水平均升高。动脉粥样硬化病变中内皮糖蛋白、TGFβ-1和TGFβ R-2的表达水平高于非动脉粥样硬化主动脉组织（p < 0.0001），并且在动脉粥样硬化主动脉病变中，内皮糖蛋白、TGFβ-1和TGFβ R-2的表达之间存在相关性（p < 0.001）。内皮糖蛋白或其受体复合物可能参与动脉粥样硬化的发生发展。
