Donate Help Contact The AHA Sign In Home
American Heart Association
Circulation
Search: search_blue_button Advanced Search
Circulation. 2009;119:1510-1517
Published online before print March 9, 2009, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827477
CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data Supplement
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
119/11/1510    most recent
CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827477v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Anea, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Rudic, R. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Anea, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Rudic, R. D.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Gene*GEO Profiles
*HomoloGene*Protein
*UniGene
Related Collections
Right arrow Remodeling
Right arrow Animal models of human disease
Right arrow Genetically altered mice
Right arrow Peripheral vascular disease
Right arrow Arterial thrombosis
Right arrow Endothelium/vascular type/nitric oxide
Right arrowRelated Article

(Circulation. 2009;119:1510-1517.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.


Vascular Medicine

Vascular Disease in Mice With a Dysfunctional Circadian Clock

Ciprian B. Anea, MD; Maoxiang Zhang, PhD; David W. Stepp, PhD; G. Bryan Simkins, BS; Guy Reed, MD; David J. Fulton, PhD; R. Daniel Rudic, PhD

From the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.B.A., M.Z., G.B.S., D.J.F., R.D.R.), Department of Physiology (D.W.S.), Vascular Biology Center (D.W.S., D.J.F.), and Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine (G.R.), Medical College of Georgia, Augusta.

Correspondence to R. Daniel Rudic, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th St, CB-3621, Augusta, GA 30912. E-mail rrudic{at}mcg.edu

Received October 10, 2008; accepted December 30, 2008.


*    Abstract
up arrowTop
*Abstract
down arrowIntroduction
down arrowMethods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Background— Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States and the world. A profound pattern exists in the time of day at which the death occurs; it is in the morning, when the endothelium is most vulnerable and blood pressure surges, that stroke and heart attack most frequently happen. Although the molecular components of circadian rhythms rhythmically oscillate in blood vessels, evidence of a direct function for the "circadian clock" in the progression to vascular disease is lacking.

Methods and Results— In the present study, we found increased pathological remodeling and vascular injury in mice with aberrant circadian rhythms, Bmal1-knockout and Clock mutant. In addition, naive aortas from Bmal1-knockout and Clock mutant mice exhibit endothelial dysfunction. Akt and subsequent nitric oxide signaling, a pathway critical to vascular function, was significantly attenuated in arteries from Bmal1-knockout mice.

Conclusions— Our data reveal a new role for the circadian clock during chronic vascular responses that may be of significance in the progression of vascular disease.


Key Words: circadian rhythm • endothelium • remodeling • thrombus • vasculature


*    Introduction
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
*Introduction
down arrowMethods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
The cardiovascular system behaves rhythmically over the course of a day,1–3 coordinating tissue perfusion in accordance with oscillating metabolic and functional demands. These oscillations, which occur in blood vessels as variations in contractility and blood pressure, follow a distinctive temporal pattern—a circadian rhythm. Aberrations to circadian rhythm meet with pathological consequences. Shift work provokes a 40% increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease,4 and disturbance of daily blood pressure rhythms elevates the incidence of vascular disease.5,6 In addition, the onset of acute vascular events such as myocardial infarction7 and stroke8 also exhibits circadian variation. However, direct evidence to implicate the molecular components of circadian rhythms in the chronic progression of disease is lacking.

Editorial p 1463

Clinical Perspective p 1517

The molecular components that generate circadian rhythms—the circadian/biological clock—constitute a unique collaboration of genes and proteins that govern by virtue of transcriptional, translational, and posttranslational mechanisms. The transcriptional driving force is composed of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors Bmal1 and Clock (or Npas2). Bmal1/Clock or Bmal1/Npas2 heterodimerize to transactivate Period (Per) and Cryptochrome (Cry), the braking force of the loop, which then restrain Bmal1/Clock/Npas2 and, consequently, their own transcription. Further modification of the core complex, including phosphorylation and degradation, refines timing to the daily cycle.9 Indeed, vascular cells10,11 contain all necessary components of this unique molecular metronome. Although recent data have implicated the circadian clock in aspects of acute vascular function,12–14 no data directly implicate Bmal1 or Clock in the chronic process of vascular disease, and even less is known on the downstream mechanisms involved.


*    Methods
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
*Methods
down arrowResults
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Animals
All animal studies were performed according to protocols approved by the Medical College of Georgia Institutional Committee for Use and Care of Laboratory Animals. Bmal1-knockout (Bmal1-KO) mice were housed under standard 12-hour light/dark (LD) conditions. Clock mutant (Clockmut) mice were held in either LD or constant dark (DD) conditions for 6 weeks (1 week acclimation, 5 weeks experimentation) as indicated. Bmal1-KO and littermate wild-type (WT) mice were formerly produced by gene targeting in 129Sv/J embryonic stem cells15 that we backcrossed 3 times to C57BL/6J. Clock heterozygote mutant mice that served as parental strains for mutants and control WTs in respective studies were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Me) (C57BL/6J-Clockm1Jt/J, stock No. 002923), formerly generated by ENU mutagenesis in C57BL/6J mice causing an A to T transversion at the third-base position of the 5' splice donor site of intron 19 of Clock.16

Materials
P-endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) (1177), phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1), and Akt1 polyclonal antibodies were purchased from Cell Signaling (Danvers, Mass); GAPDH monoclonal antibody from Ambion; P-Akt (threonine-308), eNOS, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) antibodies from BD Transduction Labs; PAR4 peptide from Advanced ChemTech; and PPACK from Calbiochem.

Functional Studies in Isolated Aortic Arteries
Seven- to 10-week-old (young) Bmal1-KO mice or age-matched littermate WT controls were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine and subsequently exsanguinated. Residual blood was removed by perfusing physiological saline by cardiac puncture. The thoracic aorta was carefully dissected free and excised from the aortic arch to the point of the diaphragm. To avoid damage to the endothelium, perivascular fat was carefully dissected, and the aorta was cut into rings (2-mm thickness) for placement into organ chambers containing Krebs buffer maintained under physiological conditions. The composition of Krebs-Henseleit solution (in mmol/L) was as follows: NaCl 118.3, KCl 4.7, CaCl2 2.5, MgSO4 · 7H2O 1.2, KH2PO4 1.2, NaHCO3 25, dextrose 5.6, equilibrated with 95% O2/5% CO2 to maintain pH of 7.4 at 37°C. The rings were suspended by 2 tungsten wires (25-µm diameter) and mounted in a vessel myograph system (chamber size 6 mL, Multi Myograph, Danish Myo Technology [DMT, Atlanta, Ga]). Isometric tension was measured with a force transducer coupled to data acquisition system. A resting tension of 1.0 g was used throughout the experiments. After an equilibration period of 60 minutes (during which time Krebs-Henseleit solution was changed every 10 minutes and the resting tension was readjusted), rings were precontracted with phenylephrine until a plateau was reached. Vessels were then washed with Krebs-Henseleit solution, and this was repeated at least 3 times to stabilize the tissue. Aortas were then precontracted with phenylephrine and concentration-dependent responses to the endothelium-dependent agonist acetylcholine (1x10–9 to 5x10–5 mol/L) and the endothelium-independent nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (1x10–9 to x10–5 mol/L.

Flow-Dependent Vascular Remodeling and Femoral Artery Injury
The complete left common carotid artery ligation was performed as described previously.17 Briefly, the distal left common carotid artery and its bifurcation into the external and internal carotid were exposed with the use of blunt dissection. Nylon sutures (8-0) (USSC Sutures, Microsurgery Instruments Inc, Bellaire, Tex) were used to ligate the left common carotid artery, just proximal to the external/internal carotid artery bifurcation. For intravascular wire injury, the left femoral artery of mice was repeatedly cannulated (5 to 7 times) by a straight wire (0.38 mm in diameter; No. C-SF-15-15, Cook Inc, Bloomington, Ind) as described previously.18 Left common carotid artery ligation and femoral artery injury were performed at times of day as indicated. Incisions were closed (5-0 suture), and mice were left to recover for 5 weeks or 1 week, after which mice were euthanized at the same time of day at which the procedure was initiated.

Histomorphometry
After 5 weeks of flow reduction induced by left common carotid artery ligation, mice were anesthetized, exsanguinated, and perfused via the left ventricle with physiological saline. In processing vascular tissues for Western blotting, common carotid arteries or aortas were immediately dissected, flash-frozen, and stored at –80°C until further processing. In animal studies designed for histological/morphometric analysis of common carotid arteries, after saline infusion, mice were subsequently perfusion-fixed with neutral buffered formalin. Both right and left common carotid arteries were carefully excised and post-fixed overnight for morphometric studies or immediately embedded in frozen medium for cryotome processing. Morphometric analysis of carotid arteries was performed with video microscopy as described. Perimeter (p) of the vessel lumen was taken as the circumference (C) of a circle and lumen diameter (D) determined from the equation D=C/p, assuming that the vessel cross sections were circular in vivo. To determine thrombus area, the internal elastic lamina and patent lumen were circumscribed to derive a radius (R) value from the formula R=2C/p, and then internal elastic lamina area and luminal area (A) were calculated with the formula A={pi}R2. Thrombus area was derived from the difference of internal elastic lamina area and lumen area.

Whole Blood Analysis of Platelet Activation
Blood was collected via cardiac puncture after carbon dioxide asphyxiation. Approximately 500 to 600 µL blood was drawn through a 27-gauge needle into a 1-mL plastic syringe with 70 µL 3.8% sodium citrate and 10 µmol/L PPACK. Blood was immediately diluted 6-fold with a modified Tyrode’s buffer (137 mmol/L NaCl, 2.8 mmol/L KCl, 1 mmol/L MgCl2, 12 mmol/L NaHCO3, 0.4 mmol/L Na2HPO4, 5.5 mmol/L glucose, 1 mmol/L EDTA, 0.35% bovine serum albumin, 10 mmol/L HEPES, pH 7.4). P-selectin expression was monitored by flow cytometry (FACSCalibur, Becton Dickinson, San Jose, Calif). To assess platelet activation, blood was stimulated with PAR4 and subsequently incubated with biotinylated rat anti-mouse CD62P antibody or an isotype-matched control antibody followed by phycoerythrin-conjugated streptavidin (immunoreagents from BD Pharmingen, San Diego, Calif) to detect P-selectin by flow cytometry. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD41 antibody (BD Pharmingen) was used as a platelet identifier.

Statistical Analysis
The significance of differences was assessed by 2-way ANOVA analysis to test for all sources of variation (genotype versus age or genotype versus light cycle conditions), and subsequent tests were made to assess differences between paired right contralateral artery and left common carotid artery lumen diameter from individual animals by paired Student t tests. Platelet responses and immunoblot densitometry were analyzed for significance by unpaired Student t tests. Error bars show the calculated SEM. Concentration response curves of vascular function were analyzed by repeated-measures 2-way and 1-way ANOVA with a Bonferroni correction. Differences were considered significant at P<0.05.

The authors had full access to and take full responsibility for the integrity of the data. All authors have read and agree to the manuscript as written.


*    Results
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMethods
*Results
down arrowDiscussion
down arrowReferences
 
Pathological Vascular Remodeling and Enhanced Vascular Injury in Mice With a Dysfunctional Circadian Clock
Chronic blood flow alterations that mimic the human condition of vascular disease can be induced experimentally in vivo by surgical ligation of the arterial circulation in animals. These "flow reduction models" simulate the structural adaptation that occurs in obstructed arteries (vascular remodeling) during atherosclerosis and hypertension. We conducted studies to determine whether disruption of the biological clock alters the response of blood vessels to a chronic reduction in blood flow. In young (aged 6 to 10 weeks) littermate control WT mice, reduction of blood flow in the left common carotid artery for a duration of 5 weeks induced wall thickening (Figure 1A) and inward remodeling (Figure 1B and 1C) of the left common carotid artery as shown previously.19 In contrast, wall thickness of the remodeled left common carotid artery of young Bmal1-KO mice was further increased (Figure 1A) and lumen was impaired in its ability to narrow (inward remodeling) (Figure 1B and 1C), a response reminiscent of that in eNOS KO mice.20 The impairment in vascular remodeling in Bmal1-KO mice was striking; lumen diameters of the left common carotid artery in WT mice narrowed by 34±3.5% relative to right contralaterals, whereas Bmal1-KO mice were only able to adapt by a 5.2±11% reduction. The aberrant remodeling in arteries of Bmal1-KO was accompanied by a substantial increase in collagen deposition in the medial layer, as evidenced through trichrome staining (Figure 1B). Studies in aged Bmal1-KO revealed even more severe abnormalities. Bmal1-KO mice (aged 25 to 30 weeks) exhibited a significant susceptibility to thrombosis (Figure 1E and 1F) in the ligated vessel versus the unligated contralateral vessel, and this response was absent in both the right contralateral artery and ligated left common carotid artery of WT mice. In addition, the thrombosis was accompanied by significant tissue remodeling around the site of thrombus formation (Figure 1E). In arterial regions that were thrombus free, aged Bmal1-KO mice exhibited a paradoxical enlargement of lumen diameter after ligation relative to age-matched littermate controls (Figure 1D) reminiscent of stenosis-induced dilatation.


Figure 1192150
View larger version (34K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Figure 1. Impaired remodeling and thrombosis in Bmal1-KO mice. A, Morphometric analysis of common carotid artery cross sections revealed typical vascular remodeling in male WT mice after 5 weeks of arterial ligation, evident as wall thickening of the medial layer, and thickening of the left common carotid artery wall was exacerbated in age-matched Bmal1-KO mice (young). RC indicates right contralateral arteries; LC, left common carotid artery. B, Masson-trichrome staining showed a robust deposition of collagen staining (blue stain) in the media of Bmal1-KO mice relative to WT mice (bar=50 µm). C, In contrast to a reduction in lumen diameter observed in WT mice, lumen diameter of male Bmal1-KO mice did not narrow (young, aged 7 to 10 weeks) or even exhibited a paradoxical increase in diameter (old, aged 25 to 30 weeks) (D) in regions that were free of thrombosis. E, Hematoxylin and eosin staining of remodeled left common carotid artery of old WT (left) reveals a normal, inwardly remodeled vessel with patent lumen, whereas Bmal1-KO (right) exhibits an enlarged lumen undergoing remodeling around the point of fibrosis (bar=50 µm) (n=9 to 10; *P<0.05, paired t test, RC vs LC; {dagger}P<0.05, 2-sample t test, LC-WT vs LC-KO). F, Thrombosis was increased in old Bmal1 KO mice (n=7 to 10 per age group; *P<0.05, WT vs KO).

To determine whether the effects of Bmal1 on vascular remodeling were related to the circadian rhythm function of the endogenous clock, we extended our studies to mice harboring a mutation of the Clock gene (Clockmut). The advantage of this approach is that Clock mutant mice exhibit only a modest phase shift in circadian rhythm under standard LD conditions and become completely arrhythmic when housed under conditions of DD.16 Thus, by modifying circadian cues, we can directly assess the importance of these transcription factors to the relationship between biological rhythms and vascular function. In DD conditions, the left common carotid artery of Clockmut mice undergoing common carotid artery ligation exhibited pathological vascular responses that were manifest as an increase in wall thickness (Figure 2A) and an inability to inwardly remodel (Figure 2B) relative to WT mice. However, in LD, the wall thickening and inward remodeling induced by arterial ligation were not different between WT and Clockmut mice, providing strong evidence for a direct link between light cycle– and circadian rhythm–dependent changes in vascular function.


Figure 2192150
View larger version (50K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Figure 2. Clock mutant mice exhibit pathological vascular responses. A, After acclimation to either LD or DD conditions, the left common carotid artery of WT and Clock mutant (MUT) mice (male, aged 15 to 20 weeks) was ligated for 5 weeks, and remodeled left common carotid artery thickness was measured, revealing a DD-dependent increase in wall thickness of left common carotid artery in Clockmut mice (n=4; *P<0.05, Clockmut in DD vs WT in DD) and a DD-dependent impairment in inward remodeling (B). C, Von Gieson staining of elastin fibers revealed enhanced intimal hyperplasia in the left femoral artery of male Clockmut mice undergoing intraluminal wire injury relative to injured arteries of male WT mice that were housed under the same conditions in DD (bar=50 µm). D, Morphometric analysis of femoral artery cross sections revealed an increase in neointimal area and intima-to-medial (I/M) ratio indicative of an exacerbated response to wire injury (n=7 to 10; *P<0.05).

We next sought to determine whether the circadian clock might also influence other types of vascular injury such as intimal hyperplasia in response to intraluminal vascular injury. Five weeks after wire injury to the femoral artery, Clock mutant mice housed in DD conditions exhibited a significant increase in arterial injury relative to WT mice, quantified as an increase in neointimal area and intima-to-medial ratio (Figure 2C and 2D). Although the extent of injury induced by arterial ligation (Figure I in the online-only Data Supplement) and wire injury was not affected by gender (Figure IIA and IIB in the online-only Data Supplement) or time of the initial insult (Figure IIC and IID in the online-only Data Supplement), wire injury in Bmal1-KO mice also induced a robust neointimal response relative to littermate WT control mice (Figure IIB and IID in the online-only Data Supplement), providing further evidence for the importance of clock function in the chronic vascular response to injury.

Bmal1-KO Mice Exhibit Intact Coagulative Responses
Thrombosis and vascular injury can occur because of a defect in the coagulation cascade localized to either the endothelium or blood platelets. To determine whether the injury in Bmal1-KO mice was due to a defect in the coagulative properties of blood, we assessed the platelet response by FACS analysis in isolated whole blood of mice. Baseline levels of total platelets measured by the platelet marker CD41 were not different between WT and Bmal1-KO mice (Figure 3A). Stimulating platelets in isolated whole blood with the thrombin receptor agonist PAR-4 induced a robust and significant increase in platelet activation as measured by P-selectin (cd62) expression. However, the level of activation was not different between Bmal1-KO mice and WT mice (Figure 3B), indicating that an intrinsic defect in platelet activation could not account for the increased thrombosis apparent in Bmal1-KO mice.


Figure 3192150
View larger version (47K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Figure 3. Activation of platelets is normal in Bmal1-KO mice, but endothelial and liver PAI-1 is increased. Platelet function was assessed in Bmal1-KO mice vs littermate control WT mice (male, aged 20 to 25 weeks). Whole blood was isolated from mice and activated with PAR-4 to induce platelet aggregation and analyzed for platelet markers by FACS analysis. No difference was found in total platelets (cd41) (A) or platelet activation (cd62) (B) in Bmal1-KO mice vs WT mice (n=5 platelet aggregation studies; *P<0.05, activated vs basal). C, Protein expression of PAI-1 was increased in the endothelium (bar=30 µm) and livers (D) of 20- to 25-week-old Bmal1-KO mice (liver immunoblot shows 3 WT and 3 Bmal1-KO mice, and bottom panel shows respective densitometry). RC indicates right contralateral arteries; LC, left common carotid artery.

Endothelial Dysfunction in Bmal1-KO Mice and Clock Mutant Mice
Because the blood-borne response was intact, we next examined whether a defect in endothelial function might contribute to the impairments in vascular remodeling and thrombosis observed in Bmal1-KO mice. PAI-1, a prothrombotic enzyme that prevents fibrinolysis, was upregulated in the endothelium of remodeled arteries (Figure 3C) and livers (Figure 3D) of Bmal1-KO mice. Indeed, endothelial dysfunction is known to promote pathological vascular remodeling and thrombosis. To directly assess endothelial function, we conducted organ bath studies using isolated aortic rings from Bmal1-KO mice. Aortas from Bmal1-KO mice (Figure 4A, 4B) exhibited a severely impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant response to acetylcholine relative to WT mice. Acetylcholine (5x10–6 mol/L) induced a robust 71±3.5% relaxation in WT mice versus only 17±3.3% relaxation in Bmal1-KO mice. Endothelial dysfunction was also observed in aortas isolated from Clock mutant mice that were acclimated to conditions of constant darkness. Percent relaxation to acetylcholine was only 56±11% in Clockmut mice versus 87±9.1% in WT mice also acclimated to DD conditions (Figure 4C). Importantly, the endothelial dysfunction in Clockmut mice was not apparent under LD conditions (Figure 4D), providing further evidence in support of a direct link between the biological clock and vascular integrity.


Figure 4192150
View larger version (32K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Figure 4. Endothelial dysfunction in mice with aberrant circadian rhythm. Isometric tension development was assessed in aortic rings prepared from Bmal1-KO mice (black squares) and littermate controls (white circles). After preconstriction with phenylephrine (PE), concentration response to acetylcholine (Ach) was measured. Representative tracings (A) and summary data (B) of the acetylcholine response from WT and Bmal1-KO mice (aged 10 to 15 weeks, male) are shown. Clock mutant mice were also assessed for their response to acetylcholine in DD (C) and LD (D) conditions (n=4 WT, n=6 Clockmut; *P<0.05 vs WT at corresponding concentration). E, Relaxant responses to the endothelium-independent vasodilator sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were not different between control and Bmal1-KO mice. F, Acetylcholine response was assessed in WT and Bmal1-KO mice at 8 AM and 8 PM (n=5 to 7 per group; *P<0.05, WT vs Bmal1-KO at respective time; {dagger}P<0.05, respective genotype at 8 AM vs 8 PM).

Smooth muscle cell responses to nitric oxide as measured by relaxation in response to sodium nitroprusside remained intact in Bmal1-KO mice (Figure 4E), providing further evidence of a direct impact of circadian rhythm on endothelial function. Finally, WT mice exhibited a variation in vascular function (measured by the response to acetylcholine; Figure 4F), consistent with the temporal variation observed in prior studies.13 Interestingly, dysfunction in Bmal1-KO mice was further exacerbated at time points of reduced endothelial function in WT mice (Figure 4F).

Akt-eNOS Signaling Is Blunted in Remodeled Arteries of Bmal1-KO Mice
The serine-threonine kinase Akt1 protects cells from apoptosis,21 increases nitric oxide production via phosphorylation of eNOS,22,23 and modulates vascular function.24 Previously, we assessed global expression patterns of circadian oscillating genes in the aorta and identified the serine/threonine kinase Akt1/PKB as a putative target of the circadian clock.11 Indeed, expression levels of Akt1 protein were significantly reduced in Bmal1-KO mice versus littermate control WT mice in left common carotid artery undergoing 5 weeks of vascular remodeling (Figure 5A). In addition, the phosphorylated form of Akt at threonine 308, an index of Akt activation, was dramatically blunted in the remodeled arteries (Figure 5A and 5B). Because phosphorylation of Akt1 on threonine 308 is dependent on the upstream kinase PDK1,25,26 we also assessed PDK1 expression. We found that protein expression of PDK1 was significantly decreased in Bmal1-KO mice relative to WT mice. In mice undergoing a shorter, 1-week ligation, we found that the contralateral control (unligated) right contralateral arteries of Bmal1-KO also exhibited substantially lower levels of P-Akt, Akt, and PDK (Figure 5C). Moreover, comparison of right contralateral arteries versus left common carotid artery after 1 week of ligation revealed that P-Akt and t-Akt were robustly upregulated in remodeled left common carotid arteries of WT mice, an effect that was still lower in Bmal1-KO mice but upregulated nonetheless, which may reflect the impact of shear forces to regulate Akt.


Figure 5192150
View larger version (61K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Figure 5. Blunted Akt signaling in common carotid arteries of Bmal1 KO mice. A, After 5 weeks of complete carotid artery ligation, remodeled arteries (left common carotid arteries [LC]) were dissected and protein lysates were isolated and separated by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis from littermate control WT mice vs Bmal1-KO mice at a single time point (1 PM). Expression levels of total Akt, P-Akt1, and the phosphorylating kinase PDK were dramatically reduced in remodeled left common carotid artery relative to WT mice. Remodeled arteries of Bmal1-KO mice also exhibited blunted phosphorylated levels of phosphorylated eNOS, although total eNOS on average did not change. B, Changes were quantified by densitometry (*P<0.05 vs WT) (n=4 WT, n=4 Bmal1-KO). teNOS indcates total eNOS. C, After 1 week of left common carotid artery ligation, proteins were assessed in both right contralateral arteries (RC) and left common carotid artery (LC), revealing attenuated Akt and P-Akt expression in the unligated right contralateral arteries of Bmal1-KO mice relative to WT mice.

Because Akt exerts its regulatory role in vascular function,23 at least in part, by phosphorylating and subsequently activating eNOS, we further examined levels of eNOS in the remodeled arteries undergoing long-term, 4-week ligation. Indeed, expression levels of phosphorylated eNOS were significantly attenuated in Bmal1-KO mice relative to WT mice (Figure 5A and 5B), consistent with impaired endothelium-dependent vasomotion, pathological remodeling, and enhanced vascular injury.


*    Discussion
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMethods
up arrowResults
*Discussion
down arrowReferences
 
Seminal observations have led to the discovery of the circadian clock and its importance to daily rhythms in central16,27–30 and peripheral function.31–33 Central to activation of the circadian clock are the transcription factors Bmal1 and Clock. Bmal1 and Clock heterodimerize to bind E-box motifs within the promoter regions of downstream clock genes to induce the rhythmic changes in gene expression.34 On a functional level, disruption of Bmal127 or mutation of Clock16 in mice impairs circadian rhythms in daily activity. However, the biological significance of an aberrant endogenous clock in the long-term progression to vascular disease is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that Bmal1-KO and Clock mutant mice exhibit pathological responses to vascular injury, which may stem in part from pronounced endothelial dysfunction in the vasculature. As Bmal1-KO mice age, the chronic response to arterial ligation becomes more severe, evident as a susceptibility to thrombosis, consistent with recent studies of photochemical injury in Bmal1-KO mice.35 Indeed, aging itself is known to modify circadian clock function.36 Other studies have also demonstrated that the aging process is accelerated in Bmal1-KO mice, manifest as arthropathy15 and organ pathology37 by 35 to 40 weeks of age, in contrast to WT mice of the same age.

Changes in other physiological and metabolic parameters in response to disruption of circadian rhythm do not appear to account for the changes in vascular remodeling observed in Bmal1-KO mice. Bmal1-KO mice exhibited elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides relative to WT mice, as demonstrated previously38; however these differences were age independent (Table I in the online-only Data Supplement) and modest relative to mouse models of hypercholesterolemia. In apolipoprotein E knockout mice, endothelial function is preserved in the face of striking 10- to 20-fold increases in cholesterol39,40 and is impaired only at sites of plaque formation in cholesterol-fed apolipoprotein E knockout mice.41 Thus, as it applies to our studies, it would be highly unlikely that the <1.5-fold elevations in cholesterol in Bmal1-KO (which are atherosclerosis free on a regular chow diet) would contribute to the endothelial dysfunction and impaired remodeling we observe.

In prior studies, we have shown that responses to insulin are improved in Bmal1-KO mice,38 which would not readily explain endothelial dysfunction because insulin resistance is intimately linked to compromised endothelial function. Finally, Bmal1-KO mice are not hypertensive but actually hypotensive and lack the nighttime spike in blood pressure.12

These findings are the first to demonstrate that the endogenous clock genes can orchestrate the progression to chronic vascular disease. In addition, the acute endothelial dysfunction we observed in Bmal1-KO and Clock mutant mice is also consistent with observations in mutant mice of another core clock component, Per2.13 Further indication that the vascular effects of Bmal1 and Clock are dependent on overall clock function is that the development of vascular disease (as evidenced by wall thickening and impairment in inward remodeling) only occurred when Clockmut mice were acclimated to free running conditions (DD) versus normal rhythmicity (LD). Thus, we have established a relationship between light cycle and deterioration of vascular integrity that indicates that the vascular phenotype is not a mere consequence of Clock mutation or Bmal1 deficiency and secondary effects therein but is dependent on the integrity of circadian rhythms.

Previously, we have demonstrated that eNOS knockout mice exhibit aberrant remodeling, a phenotype strikingly similar to that which we now demonstrate in Bmal1-KO mice. PDK and its downstream target Akt1, which plays a key regulatory step in controlling eNOS activity, were attenuated in both naive and remodeled common carotid arteries of Bmal1-KO mice. Moreover, 1 week of left common carotid artery ligation revealed robust upregulation of P-Akt in remodeled left common carotid artery of WT mice relative to right contralateral arteries of WT mice, similar to in vitro observations in sheared endothelial cells,42 hinting at a complex manner of Akt regulation involving both the circadian clock and shear stress. The reduction in Akt signaling and subsequent vascular pathology observed in Bmal1-KO mice is consistent with the established protective role for Akt and eNOS in the regulation of vascular function.24,43,44 In contrast to the blunting in Akt, PAI-1, which is prothrombotic and antifibrinolytic, was increased in Bmal1-KO mice. Indeed, ample evidence links the regulation of PAI-1 to the molecular clock. PAI-1 oscillates with a circadian rhythm,45 and its expression is regulated by 2 clock components Bmal146 and Reverb{alpha}.47 Moreover, PAI-1 transgenic mice exhibit spontaneous age-dependent coronary thrombosis,48 a phenotype similar to the injury-induced thrombosis we observed in Bmal1-KO mice. Thus, biological oscillation driven by the circadian clock can influence events in an extended temporal process that, when perturbed, may precipitate a state of endothelial dysfunction, pathological vascular remodeling, and thrombosis that ultimately may forge a path to vascular disease.


*    Acknowledgments
 
We wish to thank Dr Christopher A. Bradfield and Dr Garret FitzGerald for graciously providing Bmal1 (MOP3) knockout mice. We also wish to thank Dr Joseph Takahashi and Dr Mario B. Marrero for insightful suggestions and Jina Kim, Monica Davis, James Mintz, and Pulkit Malik for their technical assistance.

Sources of Funding

This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (DK070658 and HL089576) and the American Heart Association (0665284B).

Disclosures

None.


*    References
up arrowTop
up arrowAbstract
up arrowIntroduction
up arrowMethods
up arrowResults
up arrowDiscussion
*References
 
1. Hossmann V, Fitzgerald GA, Dollery CT. Circadian rhythm of baroreflex reactivity and adrenergic vascular response. Cardiovasc Res. 1980; 14: 125–129.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Millar-Craig MW, Bishop CN, Raftery EB. Circadian variation of blood-pressure. Lancet. 1978; 1: 795–797.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

3. Panza JA, Epstein SE, Quyyumi AA. Circadian variation in vascular tone and its relation to alpha-sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity. N Engl J Med. 1991; 325: 986–990.[Abstract]

4. Boggild H, Knutsson A. Shift work, risk factors and cardiovascular disease. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1999; 25: 85–99.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

5. Pierdomenico SD, Lapenna D, Guglielmi MD, Costantini F, Romano F, Schiavone C, Cuccurullo F, Mezzetti A. Arterial disease in dipper and nondipper hypertensive patients. Am J Hypertens. 1997; 10: 511–518.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

6. Rizzoni D, Porteri E, Guelfi D, Muiesan ML, Valentini U, Cimino A, Girelli A, Rodella L, Bianchi R, Sleiman I, Rosei EA. Structural alterations in subcutaneous small arteries of normotensive and hypertensive patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Circulation. 2001; 103: 1238–1244.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

7. Muller JE, Ludmer PL, Willich SN, Tofler GH, Aylmer G, Klangos I, Stone PH. Circadian variation in the frequency of sudden cardiac death. Circulation. 1987; 75: 131–138.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

8. Elliott WJ. Circadian variation in the timing of stroke onset: a meta-analysis. Stroke. 1998; 29: 992–996.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

9. Ko CH, Takahashi JS. Molecular components of the mammalian circadian clock. Hum Mol Genet. 2006; 15 (spec No. 2): R271–R277.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

10. Davidson AJ, London B, Block GD, Menaker M. Cardiovascular tissues contain independent circadian clocks. Clin Exp Hypertens. 2005; 27: 307–311.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

11. Rudic RD, McNamara P, Reilly D, Grosser T, Curtis AM, Price TS, Panda S, Hogenesch JB, FitzGerald GA. Bioinformatic analysis of circadian gene oscillation in mouse aorta. Circulation. 2005; 112: 2716–2724.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

12. Curtis AM, Cheng Y, Kapoor S, Reilly D, Price TS, Fitzgerald GA. Circadian variation of blood pressure and the vascular response to asynchronous stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104: 3450–3455.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

13. Viswambharan H, Carvas JM, Antic V, Marecic A, Jud C, Zaugg CE, Ming XF, Montani JP, Albrecht U, Yang Z. Mutation of the circadian clock gene per2 alters vascular endothelial function. Circulation. 2007; 115: 2188–2195.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

14. Westgate EJ, Cheng Y, Reilly DF, Price TS, Walisser JA, Bradfield CA, Fitzgerald GA. Genetic components of the circadian clock regulate thrombogenesis in vivo. Circulation. 2008; 117: 2087–2095.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

15. Bunger MK, Walisser JA, Sullivan R, Manley PA, Moran SM, Kalscheur VL, Colman RJ, Bradfield CA. Progressive arthropathy in mice with a targeted disruption of the Mop3/Bmal-1 locus. Genesis. 2005; 41: 122–132.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

16. Vitaterna MH, King DP, Chang AM, Kornhauser JM, Lowrey PL, McDonald JD, Dove WF, Pinto LH, Turek FW, Takahashi JS. Mutagenesis and mapping of a mouse gene, Clock, essential for circadian behavior. Science. 1994; 264: 719–725.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

17. Rudic RD, Brinster D, Cheng Y, Fries S, Song WL, Austin S, Coffman TM, FitzGerald GA. COX-2-derived prostacyclin modulates vascular remodeling. Circ Res. 2005; 96: 1240–1247.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

18. Yu J, Rudic RD, Sessa WC. Nitric oxide-releasing aspirin decreases vascular injury by reducing inflammation and promoting apoptosis. Lab Invest. 2002; 82: 825–832.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

19. Rudic RD, Bucci M, Fulton D, Segal SS, Sessa WC. Temporal events underlying arterial remodeling after chronic flow reduction in mice: correlation of structural changes with a deficit in basal nitric oxide synthesis. Circ Res. 2000; 86: 1160–1166.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

20. Rudic RD, Shesely EG, Maeda N, Smithies O, Segal SS, Sessa WC. Direct evidence for the importance of endothelium-derived nitric oxide in vascular remodeling. J Clin Invest. 1998; 101: 731–736.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

21. Datta SR, Dudek H, Tao X, Masters S, Fu H, Gotoh Y, Greenberg ME. Akt phosphorylation of BAD couples survival signals to the cell-intrinsic death machinery. Cell. 1997; 91: 231–241.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

22. Dimmeler S, Fleming I, Fisslthaler B, Hermann C, Busse R, Zeiher AM. Activation of nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells by Akt-dependent phosphorylation. Nature. 1999; 399: 601–605.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

23. Fulton D, Gratton JP, McCabe TJ, Fontana J, Fujio Y, Walsh K, Franke TF, Papapetropoulos A, Sessa WC. Regulation of endothelium-derived nitric oxide production by the protein kinase Akt. Nature. 1999; 399: 597–601.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

24. Luo Z, Fujio Y, Kureishi Y, Rudic RD, Daumerie G, Fulton D, Sessa WC, Walsh K. Acute modulation of endothelial Akt/PKB activity alters nitric oxide-dependent vasomotor activity in vivo. J Clin Invest. 2000; 106: 493–499.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

25. Alessi DR, James SR, Downes CP, Holmes AB, Gaffney PR, Reese CB, Cohen P. Characterization of a 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase which phosphorylates and activates protein kinase Balpha. Curr Biol. 1997; 7: 261–269.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

26. Stephens L, Anderson K, Stokoe D, Erdjument-Bromage H, Painter GF, Holmes AB, Gaffney PR, Reese CB, McCormick F, Tempst P, Coadwell J, Hawkins PT. Protein kinase B kinases that mediate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate-dependent activation of protein kinase B. Science. 1998; 279: 710–714.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

27. Bunger MK, Wilsbacher LD, Moran SM, Clendenin C, Radcliffe LA, Hogenesch JB, Simon MC, Takahashi JS, Bradfield CA. Mop3 is an essential component of the master circadian pacemaker in mammals. Cell. 2000; 103: 1009–1017.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

28. Preitner N, Damiola F, Lopez-Molina L, Zakany J, Duboule D, Albrecht U, Schibler U. The orphan nuclear receptor REV-ERBalpha controls circadian transcription within the positive limb of the mammalian circadian oscillator. Cell. 2002; 110: 251–260.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

29. van der Horst GT, Muijtjens M, Kobayashi K, Takano R, Kanno S, Takao M, de Wit J, Verkerk A, Eker AP, van Leenen D, Buijs R, Bootsma D, Hoeijmakers JH, Yasui A. Mammalian Cry1 and Cry2 are essential for maintenance of circadian rhythms. Nature. 1999; 398: 627–630.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

30. Zheng B, Albrecht U, Kaasik K, Sage M, Lu W, Vaishnav S, Li Q, Sun ZS, Eichele G, Bradley A, Lee CC. Nonredundant roles of the mPer1 and mPer2 genes in the mammalian circadian clock. Cell. 2001; 105: 683–694.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

31. Kornmann B, Schaad O, Bujard H, Takahashi JS, Schibler U. System-driven and oscillator-dependent circadian transcription in mice with a conditionally active liver clock. PLoS Biol. 2007; 5: e34.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

32. Nagoshi E, Saini C, Bauer C, Laroche T, Naef F, Schibler U. Circadian gene expression in individual fibroblasts: cell-autonomous and self-sustained oscillators pass time to daughter cells. Cell. 2004; 119: 693–705.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

33. Yoo SH, Yamazaki S, Lowrey PL, Shimomura K, Ko CH, Buhr ED, Siepka SM, Hong HK, Oh WJ, Yoo OJ, Menaker M, Takahashi JS. PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE real-time reporting of circadian dynamics reveals persistent circadian oscillations in mouse peripheral tissues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004; 101: 5339–5346.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

34. Gekakis N, Staknis D, Nguyen HB, Davis FC, Wilsbacher LD, King DP, Takahashi JS, Weitz CJ. Role of the CLOCK protein in the mammalian circadian mechanism. Science. 1998; 280: 1564–1569.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

35. Westgate EJ, Cheng Y, Reilly DF, Price TS, Walisser JA, Bradfield CA, FitzGerald GA. Genetic components of the circadian clock regulate thrombogenesis in vivo. Circulation. 2008; 117: 2087–2095.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

36. Van Reeth O, Zhang Y, Reddy A, Zee P, Turek FW. Aging alters the entraining effects of an activity-inducing stimulus on the circadian clock. Brain Res. 1993; 607: 286–292.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

37. Kondratov RV, Kondratova AA, Gorbacheva VY, Vykhovanets OV, Antoch MP. Early aging and age-related pathologies in mice deficient in BMAL1, the core component of the circadian clock. Genes Dev. 2006; 20: 1868–1873.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

38. Rudic RD, McNamara P, Curtis AM, Boston RC, Panda S, Hogenesch JB, Fitzgerald GA. BMAL1 and CLOCK, two essential components of the circadian clock, are involved in glucose homeostasis. PLoS Biol. 2004; 2: e377.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

39. Johansson ME, Hägg U, Wikström J, Wickman A, Bergström G, Gan LM. Haemodynamically significant plaque formation and regional endothelial dysfunction in cholesterol-fed ApoE–/– mice. Clin Sci (Lond). 2005; 108: 531–538.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

40. Villeneuve N, Fortuno A, Sauvage M, Fournier N, Breugnot C, Jacquemin C, Petit C, Gosgnach W, Carpentier N, Vanhoutte P, Vilaine JP. Persistence of the nitric oxide pathway in the aorta of hypercholesterolemic apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice. J Vasc Res. 2003; 40: 87–96.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

41. Bonthu S, Heistad DD, Chappell DA, Lamping KG, Faraci FM. Atherosclerosis, vascular remodeling, and impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation in genetically altered hyperlipidemic mice. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997; 17: 2333–2340.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

42. Go YM, Boo YC, Park H, Maland MC, Patel R, Pritchard KA Jr, Fujio Y, Walsh K, Darley-Usmar V, Jo H. Protein kinase B/Akt activates c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase by increasing NO production in response to shear stress. J Appl Physiol. 2001; 91: 1574–1581.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

43. Ackah E, Yu J, Zoellner S, Iwakiri Y, Skurk C, Shibata R, Ouchi N, Easton RM, Galasso G, Birnbaum MJ, Walsh K, Sessa WC. Akt1/protein kinase Balpha is critical for ischemic and VEGF-mediated angiogenesis. J Clin Invest. 2005; 115: 2119–2127.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

44. Phung TL, Ziv K, Dabydeen D, Eyiah-Mensah G, Riveros M, Perruzzi C, Sun J, Monahan-Earley RA, Shiojima I, Nagy JA, Lin MI, Walsh K, Dvorak AM, Briscoe DM, Neeman M, Sessa WC, Dvorak HF, Benjamin LE. Pathological angiogenesis is induced by sustained Akt signaling and inhibited by rapamycin. Cancer Cell. 2006; 10: 159–170.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

45. Andreotti F, Kluft C. Circadian variation of fibrinolytic activity in blood. Chronobiol Int. 1991; 8: 336–351.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

46. Schoenhard JA, Smith LH, Painter CA, Eren M, Johnson CH, Vaughan DE. Regulation of the PAI-1 promoter by circadian clock components: differential activation by BMAL1 and BMAL2. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2003; 35: 473–481.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

47. Wang J, Yin L, Lazar MA. The orphan nuclear receptor Rev-erb alpha regulates circadian expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. J Biol Chem. 2006; 281: 33842–33848.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

48. Eren M, Painter CA, Atkinson JB, Declerck PJ, Vaughan DE. Age-dependent spontaneous coronary arterial thrombosis in transgenic mice that express a stable form of human plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Circulation. 2002; 106: 491–496.[Abstract/Free Full Text]


 

CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE

Vascular physiology exhibits a profound circadian rhythm, evident as 24-hour variations in blood pressure and vascular contractility. In addition, acute cardiovascular events also exhibit a distinct timing; heart attacks and strokes occur most frequently in the morning. However, evidence for the involvement of the transcription factors that generate circadian rhythms in the progression to vascular disease is lacking. This study demonstrates that the circadian transcription factors Bmal1 and Clock influence not only acute vascular responses but also the long-term adaption of arteries as occurs during vascular remodeling and vascular injury. We found that mice with genetic disruption of the Bmal1 gene (Bmal1-knockout) or mutation of the Clock gene (Clockmut) exhibited pathological vascular remodeling of the common carotid artery after vessel ligation and pronounced intimal hyperplasia of the femoral artery after intraluminal wire injury. Moreover, the extent of injury was conditioned by aging, progressing to thrombosis in remodeled common carotid arteries of Bmal1-knockout mice. This was further accompanied by an increase in the profibrinolytic and prothrombotic molecule plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, a known target of the circadian clock. Conversely, mechanisms protective of endothelial function were impaired, evident as attenuated vascular responses to acetylcholine and attenuation in protein expression of the Akt–endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway. These data provide direct evidence for the circadian clock in vascular remodeling and vascular injury that may ultimately be of significant importance in the progression to vascular disease.


*    Footnotes
 
The online-only Data Supplement is available with this article at http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827477/DC1.


Related Article:

Clinical Summaries
Circulation 2009 119: 1457-1458. [Extract] [Full Text]



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
CirculationHome page
R. D. Rudic
Time Is of the Essence: Vascular Implications of the Circadian Clock
Circulation, October 27, 2009; 120(17): 1714 - 1721.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
M. J. Sole and T. A. Martino
Diurnal physiology: core principles with application to the pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of myocardial hypertrophy and failure
J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2009; 107(4): 1318 - 1327.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
R. D. Rudic and D. J. Fulton
Pressed for time: the circadian clock and hypertension
J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2009; 107(4): 1328 - 1338.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
CirculationHome page
J. F. Keaney Jr and D. R. Weaver
Vascular Rhythms and Adaptation: Do Your Arteries Know What Time It Is?
Circulation, March 24, 2009; 119(11): 1463 - 1466.
[Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data Supplement
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
119/11/1510    most recent
CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827477v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Anea, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Rudic, R. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Anea, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Rudic, R. D.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Gene*GEO Profiles
*HomoloGene*Protein
*UniGene
Related Collections
Right arrow Remodeling
Right arrow Animal models of human disease
Right arrow Genetically altered mice
Right arrow Peripheral vascular disease
Right arrow Arterial thrombosis
Right arrow Endothelium/vascular type/nitric oxide
Right arrowRelated Article