Smooth-Muscle-Cell-Specific Deletion of CD38 Protects Mice from AngII-Induced Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm through Inhibiting Vascular Remodeling

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-04, Vol.25 (8), p.4356
• Main Authors: Yu, Zhen-Ping, Wang, Yi-Kai, Wang, Xiao-Yu, Gong, Li-Na, Tan, Hui-Lan, Jiang, Mei-Xiu, Wang, Ling-Fang, Yu, Guan-Hui, Deng, Ke-Yu, Xin, Hong-Bo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Abdominal aneurysm; ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 - genetics; ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 - metabolism; Angiotensin II; Animals; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - chemically induced; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - genetics; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - pathology; Aortic aneurysms; B cells; Cardiovascular diseases; Coronary vessels; Disease Models, Animal; Genotype & phenotype; Health aspects; Inflammation; Male; Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics; Membrane Glycoproteins - metabolism; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Mortality; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - metabolism; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - pathology; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle - metabolism; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle - pathology; Myosin Heavy Chains - genetics; Myosin Heavy Chains - metabolism; Roles; Senescence; Signal Transduction; Smooth muscle; Vascular Remodeling - genetics
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084356

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a serious vascular disease which is associated with vascular remodeling. CD38 is a main NAD -consuming enzyme in mammals, and our previous results showed that CD38 plays the important roles in many cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of CD38 in AAA has not been explored. Here, we report that smooth-muscle-cell-specific deletion of CD38 (CD38 ) significantly reduced the morbidity of AngII-induced AAA in CD38 Apoe mice, which was accompanied with a increases in the aortic diameter, medial thickness, collagen deposition, and elastin degradation of aortas. In addition, CD38 significantly suppressed the AngII-induced decreases in α-SMA, SM22α, and MYH11 expression; the increase in Vimentin expression in VSMCs; and the increase in VCAM-1 expression in smooth muscle cells and macrophage infiltration. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the role of CD38 in attenuating AAA was associated with the activation of sirtuin signaling pathways. Therefore, we concluded that CD38 plays a pivotal role in AngII-induced AAA through promoting vascular remodeling, suggesting that CD38 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the prevention of AAA.