Skip to main content
PMC home page
Cell Proliferation logoLink to Cell Proliferation
. 2003 Jan 31;32(2-3):101–105. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2184.1999.32230101.x

Lipid‐induced changes in vascular smooth muscle cell membrane fluidity are associated with DNA synthesis

Christopher Potten, Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, Kohsuke Sasaki, A Sachinidis 1, M Carniel 1, S Seewald 1, C Seul 1, I Gouni‐Berthold 1, Y Ko 1, H Vetter 1
PMCID: PMC6726322  PMID: 10535356

Abstract

Abstract. In the present study, we examined whether changes in the membrane fluidity of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) alter their DNA synthesis. For this purpose, the membrane fluidity of the cells was modulated after treatment of VSMCs with 1,2‐dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (PC). Treatment of VSMCs with 1,2‐dioleoyl PC‐rich medium containing 10% heat‐inactivated human serum and 3 mg/ml 1,2‐dioleoyl PC for 24 h resulted in an increase in VSMC membrane fluidity at all temperatures from 15° to 40°C as well as a 51% inhibition of DNA synthesis, compared with untreated cells. Remarkably, enrichment of VSMCs with 1,2‐dioleoyl PC/cholesterol‐rich medium containing 10% human serum, 3 mg/ml 1,2‐dioleoyl PC and 2 mg/ml cholesterol restored both membrane fluidity and DNA synthesis to the levels of untreated cells. The present findings show an inverse association between increased membrane fluidity and cellular DNA synthesis.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (626.6 KB).

References

  1. Gleason MM, Medow MM, Tulenko TM. (1991) Excess membrane cholesterol alters calcium movements, cytosolic calcium levels, and membrane fluidity in arterial smooth muscle cells. Circ. Res. 69, 216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Medow MS, Segal S. (1987) Age related changes in fluidity of rat renal brushborder membrane vesicles. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 142, 849. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ross R. (1993) The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: a perspective for the 1990s. Nature 362, 801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Sachinidis A, Flesch M, Ko Y, Schrör K, Böhm M, Düsing R, Vetter H. (1995) Thromboxane A2 and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Hypertension 26, 771. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Sachinidis A, Liu M, Weber A‐A et al. (1997) Cholesterol enhances PDGF‐BB‐induced [Ca2+]i and DNA synthesis in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Hypertension 29 (2), 326. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Sen L, Bialecki RA, Smith E, Smith TW, Colucci WS. (1992) Cholesterol increases the L‐type voltage‐sensitive calcium channel current in arterial smooth muscle cells. Circ. Res. 71, 1008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Shinisky M, Barenholz Y. (1978) Fluidity parameters of lipid regions determined by fluorescence polarization. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 515, 367. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Shinitzky M. (1978) An efficient method for modulation of cholesterol level in cell membrane. FEBS Lett. 85, 317. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Cell Proliferation are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES