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Circulation Research. 1995;77:1107-1113

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Articles

Decreased Elastin Synthesis in Normal Development and in Long-term Aortic Organ and Cell Cultures Is Related to Rapid and Selective Destabilization of mRNA for Elastin

D.J. Johnson, P. Robson, Yin Hew, F.W. Keeley

From the Division of Cardiovascular Research, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, and the Departments of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, University of Toronto.

Correspondence to Dr F.W. Keeley, Division of Cardiovascular Research, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, Canada, M5G 1X8. E-mail fwk@resunix.ri.sickkids.on.ca.


*    Abstract
up arrowTop
*Abstract
down arrowIntroduction
down arrowMaterials and Methods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
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Abstract We have previously shown that aortic organ cultures from 1- to 3-day-old chickens initially mimic the high levels of elastin production seen in vivo. However, more prolonged incubation of these tissues results in decreased synthesis of elastin. In the present study, we demonstrate that decreased production of elastin in these aortic organ cultures is selective for elastin compared with collagen and is correlated with decreased steady state levels of mRNA for elastin. These decreases in steady state levels of elastin mRNA are due at least in part to a rapid and selective destabilization of mRNA for elastin, the half-life of which falls from {approx}25 hours in fresh aortic tissues to {approx}15 hours after incubation for only 8 hours. Destabilization of elastin mRNA can be prevented by incubation in the presence of blockers of DNA transcription (5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole riboside and actinomycin D) and mRNA translation (cycloheximide). Furthermore, the half-life of aortic elastin mRNA decreases from {approx}25 hours in the 1-day-old chicken to {approx}7 hours in the 8-week-old chicken, demonstrating that destabilization of mRNA is an important contributing factor in the decline in production of aortic elastin taking place during normal postnatal growth.


Key Words: elastin • mRNA turnover • aorta • organ culture • development


*    Introduction
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
*Introduction
down arrowMaterials and Methods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Elastin is one of the major structural proteins of large arteries, elastic ligaments, and lung parenchyma, contributing the physical properties of extensibility and elastic recoil, which are crucial for the normal physiological function of these tissues. This connective tissue protein is synthesized as a soluble monomeric precursor called tropoelastin, which is subsequently secreted from the cell and assembled into a highly stable, insoluble, branched polymeric structure in the extracellular matrix through covalent cross-links derived from lysine residues.1 2 Elastin is a major synthetic product of aortic tissues in early stages of postnatal development.3 4 5 6 7 However, synthesis of the protein generally peaks early during arterial growth, decreases rapidly with further development, and essentially ceases in the aortic tissue of adults. During the period of rapid accumulation of aortic elastin, transformation of soluble to insoluble elastin is a rapid and efficient process.3

Although organ cultures prepared from aortic tissue of 1- to 3-day-old chicks mimic the high levels of elastin synthesis, accounting for rapid in vivo accumulation,6 some time ago we noted that tropoelastin synthesis in these organ cultures decreases markedly with longer periods of incubation.8 Similarly, others have observed that smooth muscle cells cultured from aortic tissue lose much of their ability to produce elastin within a few passage numbers.9 In spite of the possible relevance for normal regulation of elastin production, this phenomenon and its mechanism have not been investigated in detail. In the present study, we show that the loss of the synthetic capacity of cultured aortic tissue is selective for elastin and that this effect is related at least in part to a rapid destabilization of mRNA for elastin in the tissue. Furthermore, with normal aortic development, the increased turnover rate of elastin mRNA contributes significantly to the decreased steady state levels of elastin mRNA and decreased elastin production.


*    Materials and Methods
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
*Materials and Methods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Aortic tissue from chickens of various ages was dissected as previously described.6 For experiments with a duration of 24 hours or less, organ culture methods were as reported elsewhere.6 Details of incubation conditions for specific experiments are described in the text. For organ cultures of 7 and 14 days, aortic tissue was removed under sterile conditions into medium 199 (GIBCO) containing 10% fetal calf serum, 2% penicillin/streptomycin, and 1% fungizone, gassed with 95% oxygen/5% carbon dioxide, and incubated at 41°C. The medium was changed every 2 days. Aortic smooth muscle cells were grown from explants of 2-day-old chick aortas and cultured under similar conditions in medium 199 containing 10% fetal calf serum and 2% penicillin/streptomycin. The cells were passaged when confluent and used at the second-passage stage.

Synthesis of insoluble elastin and collagen was measured by incorporation of [U-14C]proline (Amersham Canada) into these matrix proteins. After preincubation for varying periods in unlabeled medium, fresh medium containing [14C]proline (0.5 µCi/mL) was added, and the tissues were incubated for a further 3 hours. Tissues were then processed as described previously.10 Briefly, after incubation was complete, the vessels were washed well with unlabeled medium, blotted dry, placed into screw-capped tubes containing CNBr (50 mg/mL in 70% formic acid bubbled with nitrogen), and incubated at room temperature for 24 hours. The insoluble residue remaining after CNBr treatment was washed with boiling distilled water, and the washings were combined with the extract. This residue was solubilized by partial hydrolysis in 5.7 mol/L HCl for 0.5 hour at 110°C, and the hydrolyzate was added to scintillation fluid and counted. We have previously shown that the residue after extraction with CNBr under these conditions is essentially pure elastin.10 Elastin synthesis was expressed as counts per minute incorporated into this elastin residue per milligram of aortic tissue incubated.

The CNBr extract and hot water washings were evaporated to dryness, reconstituted in 5.7 mol/L HCl, and hydrolyzed for 24 hours at 110°C. Collagen synthesis was measured as [14C]hydroxyproline incorporated into proteins in the CNBr extract10 by using a modification of the method of Blumenkrantz and Asboe-Hansen11 and expressed as counts per minute per milligram aortic tissue incubated. Although the CNBr extract contains many proteins, collagen is the only protein in this extract that contains substantial quantities of [14C]hydroxyproline formed by the posttranslational hydroxylation of [14C]proline.

Total RNA was prepared from aortic tissues and cells by extraction with guanidine thiocyanate and centrifugation through cesium chloride by using previously published methods.12 Northern blots of total RNA were sequentially hybridized to cDNA probes for chicken elastin (supplied by Dr J. Foster, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine), chicken {alpha}2(I) procollagen (supplied by Dr Louis C. Gerstenfeld, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass), and human GADPH (American Type Culture Collection), each labeled with [32P]CTP by random priming. Steady state mRNA levels were determined by scanning of films with an LKB-Ultragel scanner or a UVP gel documentation system with NIH Image software. For determination of half-lives of mRNAs, tissue or cells were incubated in the presence of DRB (60 µm/L). Total RNA was extracted at the times indicated, and specific mRNAs were estimated as before by Northern blotting using cDNA probes for elastin and GAPDH sequentially on the same blot. Residual mRNA after various incubation times was normalized to mRNA levels for tissue before DRB addition (time zero). Half-lives were calculated from the slope of the best-fit straight line to a semilogarithmic plot of density versus time, assuming first-order kinetics for decay of mRNAs (half-life=0.693/slope). Equal loading of lanes for Northern blotting was confirmed by ribosomal RNA bands visualized by ethidium bromide staining.

Differences between groups were assessed by ANOVA followed by Duncan's new multiple-range test or by ANCOVA to assess significance of differences between data sets.


*    Results
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMaterials and Methods
*Results
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Measurements of insoluble elastin production by [14C]proline incorporation over an incubation period of 3 hours as a function of duration of aortic organ culture (Fig 1ADown) showed a decreasing capacity of the tissue to produce insoluble elastin with time. Normalized to fresh tissue (0 hours), elastin production fell to {approx}10% of initial values by 21 hours and was maintained at that level of synthesis for up to 14 days in organ culture. Although the rate of elastin synthesis was greatly diminished by 21 hours of organ culture, incorporation of [14C]proline into insoluble elastin remained linear over a 3-hour labeling period (Fig 1BDown). This decline in elastin production was not related to a general deterioration of the cultured aortic tissue, since production of collagen, another major connective tissue protein of the vessel wall, was unaffected by prolonged incubation (Fig 1ADown).



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Figure 1. A, Production of insoluble elastin and collagen as a function of time in organ culture, expressed relative to synthesis in fresh tissue. B, Rate of incorporation of [14C]proline into insoluble elastin in fresh aortic tissue and in aortic tissue previously maintained in organ culture for 21 hours. Insoluble elastin synthesis is measured as incorporation of [14C]proline into the CNBr-insoluble elastin residue during 3 hours of incubation in labeled medium, beginning after the aortic tissue had been maintained in organ culture for the indicated time. Collagen synthesis is measured as incorporation of [14C]proline into [14C]hydroxyproline in the CNBr-solubilized fraction. Error bars indicate SEM.

This decrease in synthetic capacity for insoluble elastin in the cultured aortic tissue was due neither to depletion of medium components nor to accumulation in the incubation medium of inhibitory factors, since (as we had previously shown for tropoelastin synthesis8 ) neither labeling in fresh medium of tissue previously incubated for 21 hours nor labeling of fresh tissue in conditioned medium from 21-hour incubations had any significant effect on synthesis rates. We have previously shown that efficient elastin production and assembly in fresh aortic organ cultures do not require the addition of fetal calf serum to the incubation medium.3 6 Addition to medium of fetal calf serum up to levels of 7.5% also had no significant influence on the decline in elastin production in these aortic cultures. Furthermore, incubation of aortic tissues in 20% serum prepared freshly from chick blood had no effect.

Both IGF-I and TGF-ß have been reported to increase synthesis of elastin in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells.13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 The possible effects of these growth factors to preserve production rates of insoluble elastin in aortic organ culture were therefore investigated. Although small enhancements of collagen and elastin production were seen in fresh aortic organ cultures (Fig 2Down), particularly with TGF-ß, neither growth factor prevented the selective decline in elastin production with prolonged incubation.



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Figure 2. Effects of TGF-ß and IGF-I on insoluble elastin and collagen production measured over a 3-hour period in fresh aortic tissue and in aortic tissue previously maintained in organ culture for 18 hours. Synthesis was measured as indicated for Fig 1Up. Error bars indicate SEM. *P<.05 vs corresponding control value by ANOVA.

Since aortic tissues from 1- to 7-day-old chicks are normally incubated intact,6 oxygenation and nutrient supplies to the cultured tissue are dependent on passive diffusion, aided by vigorous shaking during incubation. In order to determine whether decreasing elastin production was due to inadequate diffusion of nutrients, aortic tissues were subdivided before incubation in order to increase surface area for diffusion, and the tissues were cultured in the presence of 95% O2 while vigorous shaking was maintained. The decline in elastin production with incubation time was not altered under these conditions. We have previously shown that careful attention to control of pH in long-term aortic cultures is important, presumably because of high levels of lactate production during in vitro incubation.6 21 However, addition of 5 mmol/L lactate to the culture medium did not affect the synthesis of elastin in freshly isolated tissues.

Northern analysis of total mRNA prepared from aortic organ cultures after various periods of in vitro incubation showed decreasing steady state levels of mRNA for elastin (Fig 3Down). Since total RNA loading of the gel was approximately equivalent in all lanes, as determined by staining with ethidium bromide before hybridization, the proportion of mRNA for elastin appeared to be rapidly declining during culture to levels {approx}20% to 30% of the steady state levels detected in fresh aortic tissue. Consistent with elastin and collagen synthesis data (Fig 1Up), stripping and rehybridization of the same blots with a cDNA probe for collagen showed no substantial decrease in steady state mRNA levels for this protein over the same period of incubation (Fig 3Down). However, reprobing of the blots with cDNA for GAPDH, a glycolytic pathway enzyme commonly used as a "housekeeping" message for Northern analysis, showed a fourfold to sixfold increase in GAPDH mRNA over this period of incubation (Fig 3Down).



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Figure 3. Sequential Northern blots for mRNAs for elastin, {alpha}2(I) procollagen, and GAPDH as a function of time in organ culture (A). Equal loading of gel lanes was confirmed by ethidium bromide staining (B). Pooled densitometric results (mean±SEM) for elastin (n=4), collagen (n=3), and GAPDH (n=3) mRNA levels are plotted as a function of incubation time, expressed relative to mRNA levels for fresh tissues (C). mRNA determinations were corrected for loading by scanning of ethidium bromide–stained total RNA. The low mRNA level for collagen in panel A at 20 hours was an artifact of transfer to the nitrocellulose membrane. However, this value was included in the pooled data shown in panel C.

Steady state levels of mRNA for elastin were also compared in freshly isolated aortic tissue, in aortic tissue from 2-day-old chicks previously cultured for 40 hours, and in second-passage smooth muscle cells cultured from 2-day-old chick aortas (Fig 4Down). Again, for equivalent total RNA loadings, the proportion of mRNA for elastin was severalfold higher in the fresh tissue compared with aortic tissue cultured for 40 hours or with second-passage aortic smooth muscle cells. Steady state mRNA levels for elastin in cultured aortic tissue and cells appeared to be approximately equal.



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Figure 4. Quantification by Northern blotting of steady state levels of elastin mRNA. Lanes are as follows: 1, fresh aortic tissue from 1-day-old chickens; 2, aortic tissue from 1-day-old chickens maintained in organ culture for 40 hours; and 3, second-passage smooth muscle cells derived from aortic tissue from 1-day-old chickens. Equal loading of gel lanes was confirmed by staining with ethidium bromide.

Since steady state mRNA levels are determined by rates of transcription and rates of decay of message, the effect of organ culture on the half-life of elastin mRNA was determined. Aortic tissue was used either freshly isolated from chicks or after a culture period of 8 hours. At that point, DRB (60 µmol/L) was added to the organ culture, and incubation continued. Tissues were taken at various time points after the addition of DRB, and total RNA was extracted and probed with cDNAs for elastin and GAPDH. mRNA was quantified by densitometry, and mRNA levels were plotted as a function of incubation time after addition of DRB (Fig 5Down). The half-life of elastin mRNA in fresh aortic tissue was {approx}26 hours. In contrast, in aortic tissue that had been previously cultured for 8 hours, the half-life of the mRNA for elastin had fallen to {approx}15 hours. The half-life of elastin mRNA isolated from second-passage smooth muscle cells cultured from aortas of 2-day-old chickens was <10 hours. In contrast, the half-life of mRNA for GAPDH was unaffected by time in organ culture (Fig 5Down). Similar results were seen when actinomycin D (5 µg/mL) was used as an inhibitor of transcription (Fig 6Down).



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Figure 5. Turnover of mRNAs for elastin (top) and GAPDH (bottom) in fresh aortic tissue from 1-day-old chickens, in aortic tissue maintained in organ culture for 8 hours, and in second-passage smooth muscle cells (smc) derived from aortic tissue from 1-day-old chickens. Turnover of mRNA was measured by sequential Northern blotting after addition of DRB (60 µmol/L) to the culture medium. mRNA levels were expressed relative to mRNA levels at the time of addition of DRB. Half-lives (t1/2 values) of mRNAs were calculated from the slope of the best-fit straight line to a semilogarithmic plot of mRNA versus time, assuming first-order kinetics (t1/2=.693/slope). Slopes of the fitted lines for elastin mRNA were as follows: fresh aortic tissue, -0.027±0.004; cultured aortic tissue after 8 hours, -0.045±0.003; and aortic smc, -0.126±0.023. By ANCOVA, differences in slope between fresh aortic tissue and 8-hour incubated tissue were significant at P<.01, and differences in slope between fresh aortic tissue and aortic smc were significant at P<.001. Slopes of the fitted lines for GAPDH were as follows: fresh tissue, -0.068±0.008; cultured aortic tissue after 8 hours, -0.090±0.03. Slopes for GAPDH were not significantly different.



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Figure 6. Effects of actinomycin D (5 µg/mL) and cycloheximide (100 µmol/L) on steady state levels of elastin mRNA in aortic tissue of 1-day-old chickens as a function of time in organ culture. mRNA levels were measured by densitometric scanning of Northern blots and expressed relative to mRNA levels at the beginning of organ culture. ANCOVA indicated significant differences between control and actinomycin D groups (P<.01), between control and cycloheximide groups (P<.001), and between actinomycin D and cycloheximide groups (P<.01). The half-life of elastin mRNA estimated from the actinomycin D data was 28 hours.

The fact that the rate of decline of aortic steady state elastin mRNA with incubation was slower in the presence of DRB or actinomycin D than in control tissues incubated in the absence of these agents (Fig 6Up) suggested that as well as blocking transcription of new elastin mRNA and thus allowing message decay rates to be estimated, these inhibitors might also be preventing the transcription of factors responsible for destabilizing the elastin mRNA. Consistent with this, the addition of 100 µmol/L cycloheximide, an inhibitor of translation, to the incubation medium had a similar effect, essentially completely blocking the fall in elastin mRNA with incubation time (Fig 6Up).

These data indicated that destabilization of elastin mRNA was responsible at least in part for the rapid decline in steady state elastin mRNA levels in tissue and organ culture. However, it was not clear whether this effect had any physiological or developmental significance. Therefore, the half-life of elastin mRNA isolated from fresh aortic tissue was compared for 18-day embryo chicks, 2-day-old chicks, and 4- and 8-week-old chickens (Fig 7Down), a developmental period over which there is a substantial decline in aortic elastin synthesis and in steady state levels of elastin mRNA.4 5 The half-life of aortic elastin mRNA for 18-day-old embryos and 2-day-old chicks was determined to be 22 to 25 hours, in good agreement with our previous data for 1-day-old chicks (Fig 5Up). However, the half-life of this mRNA had fallen to 10 hours and 7 hours, respectively, in 4- and 8-week-old chickens, clearly indicating that decreasing stability of elastin mRNA contributes to decreased aortic elastin production in growing chickens.



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Figure 7. Half-life of elastin mRNA as a function of development in aortic tissues of 18-day embryo and 2-day-old, 4-week-old, and 8-week-old chickens. Half-lives were determined as described in Fig 5Up.


*    Discussion
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMaterials and Methods
up arrowResults
*Discussion
down arrowReferences
 
The production of aortic elastin is closely regulated with development. Synthesis and accumulation of this matrix protein are very rapid during postnatal growth of arterial vessels but essentially cease after this period of development has been completed. For example, deposition of insoluble elastin in chicken aorta reaches a peak at {approx}2 weeks after hatching, at which time the vessel is accumulating {approx}3.2 mg of insoluble elastin per day per gram of aortic tissue.6 Thereafter, production of elastin falls rapidly, until synthesis is barely detectable by 10 to 12 weeks of age.4 5 Similar developmental patterns have also been reported for aortic elastin production in other species.7 22 23 24 This pattern of synthesis is consistent with considerable evidence that aortic elastin, once firmly cross-linked into the extracellular matrix, turns over only very slowly if at all.25 26 Because of this persistence of insoluble elastin, it is particularly important that shutdown of elastin production upon arterial maturation be complete, since even small residual levels of synthesis would result in the accumulation of substantial quantities of elastin over the adult life of the animal. Although it has been reported that mRNA levels for elastin in aortic tissue generally parallel synthesis of the protein during aortic development and growth,4 7 27 28 little is known of the mechanisms for regulation of synthesis of this protein.

The data in the present study demonstrate that there is a rapid decrease in the capacity of chick aortic tissue to produce elastin during organ culture. This decline begins within a few hours of culture and appears to be correlated with a fall in steady state mRNA levels for elastin. This phenomenon appears to be selective for elastin, since message levels and synthesis of type I collagen, another major aortic connective tissue protein, are essentially unchanged, and mRNA levels for GAPDH increase severalfold over the same period of organ culture. Having been established over the first 24 hours of organ culture, these new lower levels of elastin mRNA and production of elastin appear to remain stable for at least 14 days of organ culture, also arguing against a continuing deterioration of the aortic tissue. Furthermore, the proportion of elastin mRNA represented in total RNA extracted from aortic tissue after 40 hours of organ culture appears to be similar to that in second-passage smooth muscle cells cultured from chick aortas of the same age. Decreased steady state mRNA levels for elastin in cell cultures compared with organ cultures of fresh aortic tissue of the same age have also been observed by others.9

Although steady state levels of mRNA are the product of both transcription and turnover rates, the potential contribution of message stability to mRNA levels for proteins has only recently become appreciated. Changes in mRNA turnover have been suggested as a potential mechanism for the regulation of synthesis for several proteins, including elastin28 29 30 and collagen.31 32 Indeed, phorbol ester treatment has been reported to have a major destabilizing effect on elastin mRNA in ear cartilage.33 Data from the present study demonstrate that although the half-life of elastin mRNA is {approx}25 hours in freshly dissected aortic tissue of 1- to 3-day-old chicks, after organ culture periods of only 8 hours, the half-life of this message has decreased to {approx}15 hours. Similarly, the half-life of elastin mRNA in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells is <10 hours. This latter value is consistent with the half-life of elastin mRNA reported by others for aortic smooth muscle cell cultures.29 In contrast, the half-life of GAPDH mRNA was unaffected by organ culture. Although our data cannot discount contributions of alterations in transcription rates, the decline in steady state mRNA levels for elastin and consequent decreased elastin production in organ culture is due at least in part to rapid and selective destabilization of elastin mRNA. Furthermore, elastin mRNA in smooth muscle cell culture appears to be chronically destabilized when compared with the in vivo state.

The mechanism for the selective destabilization of elastin mRNA is not clear. Neither accumulation of inhibitory factors nor depletion of nutrients in the medium appears to be important. Although TGF-ß has been reported to increase the half-life of elastin mRNA in cultured cells29 and IGF-I has been suggested to be an important regulator of aortic elastin production,15 18 20 34 neither of these growth factors prevented or attenuated the decline in aortic elastin synthesis in organ culture.

The rapid increase in mRNA for GAPDH suggests a substantial shift of the tissue to glycolysis during organ culture. This effect of culture on GAPDH mRNA adds a further cautionary note to the uncritical use of this mRNA as a reference or housekeeping message.35 Unusually high rates of aerobic glycolysis have been reported in arterial tissues, and we have previously noted that organ cultures of aortic tissue are prolific producers of lactate, requiring careful attention to control of pH in long-term cultures.6 However, the addition of lactate to the organ cultures had no direct effect (ie, a decrease in elastin production) as long as pH was maintained. Although the wall thickness of chick aortas at this age is <1 mm, the rise in GAPDH mRNA suggested that diffusion of oxygen into the tissue might be inadequate for longer-term culture. However, neither increasing surface area for diffusion nor incubation in the presence of 95% oxygen affected the decline in elastin production. Decreased Po2 has been reported to suppress tropoelastin synthesis by smooth muscle cells cultured from neonatal calf pulmonary artery.36 However, the time course and magnitude of this effect make it unlikely that it can explain the decrease in elastin production observed by us in aortic organ cultures. Moreover, the lack of any effect of culture on the production of collagen, measured in this case as radioactive hydroxyproline, suggests that oxygen levels in the tissue are adequate, since hydroxylation of proline in collagen uses molecular oxygen.37 However, we cannot discount the possibility that elastin production is particularly sensitive to tissue oxygen levels through some other mechanism. Indeed, oxygen-sensing mechanisms, which have the ability to affect protein synthesis at least in part through effects on mRNA stability, have been identified in vascular and other tissues.38 39

The fact that both actinomycin D, which blocks transcription, and cycloheximide, which blocks mRNA translation, slow or prevent the decline in steady state elastin mRNA levels in cultured aortic tissue suggests that the production of a protein factor early in incubation may be required for destabilization of elastin mRNA. Alternatively, the effect of cycloheximide to preserve elastin mRNA may also be related to a coupling of mRNA decay to translation, as has been reported for other proteins.40 41

Although these data indicated the potential for control of arterial elastin synthesis at the level of mRNA stability, direct evidence for regulation by this mechanism in physiological or pathological situations was lacking. Aortic elastin synthesis and elastin mRNA levels decline rapidly over the first 8 to 12 weeks of postnatal development and growth in the chicken.4 5 Moreover, multiple mechanisms of regulation of elastin production including both transcriptional and posttranscriptional sites would be expected in order to minimize residual synthesis and accumulation of arterial elastin after development and growth was complete. Therefore, postnatal development might be expected to be a period over which decreased message stability could contribute to decreased elastin production. Indeed, the present data demonstrate that the half-life of elastin mRNA falls substantially over the first 8 weeks of development in the chicken aorta.

Investigations of the relative contributions of transcriptional rates and stability of aortic elastin mRNA to normal developmental patterns of synthesis are presently under way. In this respect, it is interesting to note that transcriptional activity in aortic tissue of transgenic mice of a construct containing 5 kb of the human elastin promoter linked to CAT has recently been reported to remain essentially constant between 5 days and 3 months of life,42 a period over which mouse aortic elastin synthesis is declining rapidly. Although the possibility that elements controlling developmental expression of this gene may be more remotely located cannot be excluded, these data may also provide a further indication of the importance of regulation at the level of mRNA stability in determining changes in elastin production during this postnatal period in both arterial and other elastic tissues.


*    Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms
 
CNBr = cyanogen bromide
DRB = 5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole riboside
IGF-I = insulin-like growth factor I
TGF-ß = transforming growth factor-ß


*    Acknowledgments
 
This study was supported by operating grants from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the Medical Research Council of Canada. Y. Hew is the recipient of a Studentship Award from the Medical Research Council of Canada.

Received March 7, 1995; accepted August 10, 1995.


*    References
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMaterials and Methods
up arrowResults
up arrowDiscussion
*References
 
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