Roles of vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells in the vasculoprotective effect of insulin in a mouse model of restenosis.

Background: Insulin exerts vasculoprotective effects on endothelial cells (ECs) and growth-promoting effects on vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vitro, and suppresses neointimal growth in vivo. Here we determined the role of ECs and SMCs in the effect of insulin on neointimal growth.

Methods: Mice with transgene CreER under the control of EC-specific Tie2 (Tie2-Cre) or SMC-specific smooth muscle myosin heavy chain promoter/enhancer (SMMHC-Cre) or littermate controls were crossbred with mice carrying a loxP-flanked insulin receptor (IR) gene. After CreER-loxP-mediated recombination was induced by tamoxifen injection, mice received insulin pellet or sham (control) implantation, and underwent femoral artery wire injury. Femoral arteries were collected for morphological analysis 28 days after wire injury.

Results: Tamoxifen-treated mice showed lower IR expression in ECs, but not in SMCs, than mice. Insulin treatment reduced neointimal area after arterial injury in mice, but had no effect in mice. Tamoxifen-treated mice showed lower IR expression in SMCs, but not in ECs, than mice. Insulin treatment reduced neointimal area in mice, whereas unexpectedly, it failed to inhibit neointima formation in mice.

Conclusion: Insulin action in both ECs and SMCs is required for the "anti-restenotic" effect of insulin in vivo.