Abstract：Objective: To observe the effect of SMAD4 gene-silence on migration and apoptosis of human vascular smooth muscle cells(HASMC). Methods: HASMC was transfected with siRNA to inhibit the expression of SMAD4 gene. The migration and apoptosis of HASMC were detected by Transwell assay and flow cytometry. Western blotting assay was used to detect the effects of SMAD4 expression on apoptosis related protein factors. Results: Compared with the negative control(NC) group,the apoptosis rate of HASMC increased significantly after siRNA-SMAD4 transfection(P＜0.05).In Transwell assay,the average numbers of migration cells per field in the blank group,NC group and siRNA-SMAD4 group were 19±6,25±7 and 114±21 respectively.Compared with the blank group and NC group, there was a significant increase in the number of HASMC migration cells after transfection of siRNA-SMAD4(P＜0.01).Western blotting experiment showed that the SMAD4 gene-silence caused cleaved caspase-3 upregulation. Conclusion: SMAD4 gene-silence significantly promotes the migration and apoptosis of HASMC, indicating that SMAD4 be related to the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysm.
［Key words］human vascular smooth muscle cells; SMAD4; gene silencing; migration; apoptosis
2008, Vol. 28 
