Amadori-glycated albumin-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and expression of inhibitor of apoptosis protein-1 and nerve growth factor-γ

We investigated the effects of Amadori-glycated serum albumin (GSA) on cell proliferation as well as expressions of antioxidant enzyme genes and marker genes associated with signal transduction pathways in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Quiescent VSMCs treated with GSA (0-500 μg/mL, 48 h) exhibited a dose-dependent increase in proliferation that was prevented by PD98059 (25 μM), suggesting a MAPK-dependent signaling pathway. Compared with bovine serum albumin (BSA)-treated cells, the GSA (500 μg/mL, 24~h)-treated VSMCs showed a higher superoxide dismutase 2 gene expression in quantitative RT-PCR, suggesting the involvement of oxidative stress. In a focused oligonucleotide array containing 96 signal transduction-related genes, expression of inhibitor of apoptosis protein-1 (IAP-1), nerve growth factor-γ (NGF-γ), and c-jun genes was significantly higher in the GSA-treated VSMCs. These results suggest that induction of antiapoptotic proteins like IAP-1 and strong mitogens like NGF-γ by GSA might further contribute to the VSMC proliferation and accelerated vascular remodeling in diabetes.