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From the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Heart Development Group, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta (M.L.K.).
Correspondence to Jeffrey Robbins, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail teachdna@aol.com.
Abstract During fetal development, a specialized vessel, the ductus arteriosus, shunts blood from the pulmonary artery to the aorta, thus bypassing the lungs. The ductus differs primarily from the great vessels in that it is a muscular rather than an elastic artery, and the etiology of this differential development remains controversial. We present evidence that retinoic acid (RA) may contribute to the unique muscle phenotype of the ductus arteriosus. Using a transgenic mouse carrying an RA response elementlacZ transgene that expresses ß-galactosidase (ß-gal) in response to endogenous RA signals during embryonic and fetal development, we observe a strong ß-gal signal in the ductus arteriosus. By immunofluorescence, this signal colocalizes with the expression of the adult-specific smooth muscle myosin heavy chain isoform, SM2. The ß-gal signal is present throughout fetal development and persists in the neonate until the ductus arteriosus is completely closed. ß-Galpositive cells are first detected by immunofluorescence at 13.5 days postcoitum (dpc) in the mesenchyme surrounding the ductus. By 15.5 dpc, very intense ß-gal staining localizes to the ductus arteriosus but is absent or minimal in the pulmonary trunk and aortic arch; by 17.5 dpc, the smooth muscle layers of the tunica media in the ductus arteriosus exhibit positive ß-gal staining. Immunostaining with antibodies against smooth muscle myosins shows that, while SM1 is expressed in all embryonic vessels, SM2 is precociously expressed in the ductus arteriosus. Furthermore, SM2 expression can be detected in the ductus as early as 15.5 dpc. In the neonate, the ß-gal signal persists in the smooth muscle layer of the ductus and immunostaining colocalizes with SM2 expression. These data suggest that RA may play a role in inducing and maintaining smooth muscle differentiation in the developing ductus arteriosus and may promote precocious expression of the adult vascular phenotype.
Key Words: retinoic acid ductus arteriosus smooth muscle myosin heavy chain mouse development
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