Molecular mechanism of p38 signaling pathway regulation for proliferation and apoptosis of rat vascular smooth muscle cells

AIM: To investigate the relationship between p38 signal transduction pathway and the proliferation and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs) in rats of old age and to establish a mechanism of p38-targeted treatment for VSMCs.METHODS: Rat VSMCs were treated with SB203580(a selective p38 inhibitor).MTT assay and flow cytometry were used to measure proliferation and apoptosis.Expressions of p-p38,MKK3,GADD153 and C-myc proteins were measured by Western blot.RESULTS: SB203580 inhibited cell proliferation,induced apoptosis in a dose-and time-dependent manner and resulted in a significant downregulation of p-p38,GADD153 and C-myc(P0.01).CONCLUSION: Our results show that blocked p38 signaling pathway induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation of VSMC through decreasing the GADD153 and C-myc expression of p38 downstream target genes.