Effects of activated ERK on the cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and mechanism

Objective To investigate the role of activated ERK on the proliferation,apoptosis and phenotype of the cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.Methods The smooth muscle cells were isolated from the great saphenous vein.The activated ERK was inhibited with PD98059.The cellular proliferation,apoptosis and phenotype were observed.Results Compared with the control group,the proliferative ability of the smooth muscle cells was decreased (P 0.01),the rate of apoptosis was increased (P 0.01),the percentage of the contractile cells was increased and the percentage of synthetic cells decreased (P 0.01),the expression level of α-actin was increased in the experimental group.Conclusion After the activated ERK was inhibited,the degree of cellular proliferation was decreased,the degree of apoptosis increased and the phenotype changed from synthetic to contractile.