Osteoprotegerin promotes intimal hyperplasia and contributes to in-stent restenosis: Role of an αVβ3/FAK dependent YAP pathway.

Objective: Abnormal proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are related to in-stent-restenosis (ISR) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Osteoprotegerin (OPG) has been implicated in various vascular diseases. However, the effects of OPG on ISR and the underlying mechanism remained elusive. We here investigated the association between OPG and ISR, and to demonstrate the role and potential mechanisms of OPG in neointimal hyperplasia.

Approach And Results: From 2962 patients who received coronary angiography and follow-up coronary angiography at approximately one year, 291 patients were diagnosed with ISR, and another 291 gender- and age- matched patients without ISR were selected as controls. Serum OPG levels were significantly increased in patients with ISR. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that OPG level was independently associated with the increased risk of ISR. In a mouse femoral artery wire injury model, upregulated OPG was evidenced in vascular tissue after injury. OPG deletion attenuated the vascular injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia and related gene expression in mice. OPG promoted neointimal hyperplasia and human aortic smooth muscle cell (hASMC) proliferation and migration through activation of yes-associated protein (YAP), a major downstream effector of the Hippo signaling pathway, whereas knockdown or inhibition of YAP in hASMCs blunted OPG-induced above effects. Moreover, we found that OPG, as a ligand for integrin αVβ3, mediated phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and actin cytoskeleton reorganization, resulting in YAP dephosphorylation in hASMCs. OPG-dependent YAP and VSMC activation was prevented by treatment with αVβ3-blocking antibodies and inhibitors of FAK and actin stress fibers.

Conclusions: Increased serum OPG levels are associated with increased risk of ISR following PCI and OPG could promote neointimal hyperplasia in response to injury through integrin αVβ3 mediated FAK and YAP activation, indicating OPG/YAP inhibition might serve as an attractive novel target for the prevention of ISR after PCI.