Cadherin-11 regulates both mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into smooth muscle cells and the development of contractile function in vivo.

J Cell Sci

Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Amherst, NY 14260-4200, USA Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Amherst, NY 14260-4200, USA Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA

Published: June 2014

Although soluble factors, such as transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), induce mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation towards the smooth muscle cell (SMC) lineage, the role of adherens junctions in this process is not well understood. In this study, we found that cadherin-11 but not cadherin-2 was necessary for MSC differentiation into SMCs. Cadherin-11 regulated the expression of TGF-β1 and affected SMC differentiation through a pathway that was dependent on TGF-β receptor II (TGFβRII) but independent of SMAD2 or SMAD3. In addition, cadherin-11 activated the expression of serum response factor (SRF) and SMC proteins through the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) pathway. Engagement of cadherin-11 increased its own expression through SRF, indicative of the presence of an autoregulatory feedback loop that committed MSCs to the SMC fate. Notably, SMC-containing tissues (such as aorta and bladder) from cadherin-11-null (Cdh11(-/-)) mice showed significantly reduced levels of SMC proteins and exhibited diminished contractility compared with controls. This is the first report implicating cadherin-11 in SMC differentiation and contractile function in vitro as well as in vivo.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058109PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jcs.134833DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mesenchymal stem
8
stem cell
8
differentiation smooth
8
smooth muscle
8
contractile function
8
msc differentiation
8
smc differentiation
8
smc proteins
8
cadherin-11
6
smc
6

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!