Effects of sulfur dioxide, on the proliferation and apoptosis of aorta smooth muscle cells in hypertension: experiments with rats

Abstract

To explore the effects of sulfur dioxide (SO2) on the proliferation and apoptosis of aorta smooth muscle cells in hypertension rats and possible mechanism thereof. Sixteen 4-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were randomly divided into 2 equal groups: control and Na2SO3/NaHSO3 (a SO2 donor)-treated group. Eight 4-week-old male WKY (Wistar Kyoto) rats were assigned for normal control group. Five weeks later, the pressure was measured. The rat aortas were dyed with Hart's method. The morphometric parameters were calculated by Leica workstation. The plasma level of SO2 was determined by HPLC method. VSMC apoptosis was measured by TUNEL technique. The expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Bcl-2, Fas and caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemical assay. (1) Compared with those of the WKY rats, the blood pressure, ratio of media to lumen radius, and proliferation index (PI) of the SHRs were increased [(172 +/- 10) mm Hg vs (112 +/- 9) mm Hg, 0.073 +/- 0.004 vs 0.057 +/- 0.004, 0.32 +/- 0.06 vs 0.05 +/- 0.03, respectively], but the plasma level of SO2 and the apoptosis index (AI) were decreased in the SHRs [(6.4 +/- 1.5) micromol/L vs (11.3 +/- 1.0) micromol/L, 0.16 +/- 0.07 vs 0.30 +/- 0.19, respectively]. The expression of Bcl-2 was increased (0.209 +/- 0.007 vs 0.202 +/- 0.006), and the expression levels of Fas and caspase-3 of SHRs were both lower than those of the WKY rats (0.205 +/- 0.006 vs 0.211 +/- 0.005, 0.229 +/- 0.005 vs 0.244 +/- 0.010, respectively). (2) Compared with the SHR control group, the systolic blood and the ratio of media to lumen radius were decreased [(128 +/- 7) mm Hg, 0.066 +/- 0.002, respectively], but the plasma level of SO2 was increased [(8.3 +/- 1) micromol/L] for the SHR + Na2SO3/NaHSO3 group. PI was lower (0.14 +/- 0.03) and AI was higher (0.40 +/- 0.11) in SHR + Na2SO3/NaHSO3 group than those in SHR control group. The expression of Bcl-2 of VSMCs was down-regulated (0.199 +/- 0.006), but the levels of Fas and caspase-3 were up-regulated (0.218 +/- 0.003 and 0.251 +/- 0.011 respectively) in the SHR + Na2SO3/NaHSO3 group. SO2 may attenuate the structural remodeling through reducing the proliferation and enhancing the apoptosis of smooth muscle cells in SHRs. SO2 may modulate the process of apoptosis possibly through the downward regulation of the level of Bcl-2 and enhance the expression of Fas and caspase-3.