Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Suppression by heparin of smooth muscle cell proliferation in injured arteries

  • Letter
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Abstract

INTIMAL smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation dominates the early phase of healing after arterial endothelial injury1–6; what growth factors are responsible for this mitotic activity of an otherwise quiescent cell is not known. SMC growth in vitro is enhanced by platelet factors, insulin and lipoproteins7–11 and, according to some reports, can be diminished in vivo with various antiplatelet agents. Harker et al.6 have reported decreased myointimal thickening in homocystinaemic baboons treated with dipyridamole, and Friedman et al.11 and Moore et al.12 have reported suppression of SMC proliferation in the injured arteries of rabbits injected with anti-platelet serum. Intimal thickening was not diminished, however, in the injured carotid arteries of rats given various anti-platelet drugs13. Because the clotting system is inextricably linked to arterial injury and because thrombin is used to generate the platelet growth factor9 and may itself be a mitogen14,15, we speculated that heparin might inhibit myointimal thickening. We report here the use of heparin to suppress intimal SMC hyperplasia in a rat model of arterial endothelial injury and suggest possible mechanisms for the heparin effect.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Fishman, J. A., Ryan, G. B. & Karnovsky, M. J. Lab. Invest. 32, 339–351 (1975).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Clowes, A. W., Ryan, G. B., Breslow, J. L. & Karnovsky, M. J. Lab. Invest. 35, 6–17 (1976).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Stemerman, M. B. & Ross, R. J. exp. Med. 136, 769–789 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bondjers, G. & Bjornheden, T. Atherosclerosis 12, 301–306 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Schwartz, S. M., Stemerman, M. B. & Benditt, E. P. Am. J. Path. 81, 15–42 (1975).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Harker, L. A., Ross, R., Slichter, S. J. & Scott, C. R. J. clin Invest. 58, 731–741 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fisher-Dzoga, K., Chen, R. & Wissler, R. W. Adv. exp. Med. Biol. 43, 299–311 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ross, R. & Glomset, J. A. Science 180, 1332–1339 (1973).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ross, R., Glomset, J., Karija, B. & Harker, L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71, 1207–1210 (1974).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Stout, R. W., Bierman, E. L. & Ross, R. Circulat. Res. 36, 319–327 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Friedman, R. J., Stemerman, M. B., Spaet, T. H., Moore, S. & Gauldie, J. Fedn Proc. 35, 207, Abstr. (1976).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Moore, S., et al. Thromb. Haem. 35, 70–81 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Clowes, A. W. & Karnovsky, M. J. Lab. Invest. (in the press).

  14. Chen, L. B. & Buchanan, J. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 131–135 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zetter, B. R., Chen, L. B., Sun, T. & Buchanan, J. M. J. Cell. Biol. 70 282a (1976).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Steiger, E., Vars, H. M. & Dudrick, S. J. Arch. Surg. 104, 330–332 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lee, R. I. & White, P. D. Am. J. med. Sci. 145, 495–503 (1913).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fischer, A. & Astrup, T. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. Med. 38, 494–496 (1938).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Regelson, W. Adv. Chemother. 3, 303–371 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Jaques, L. B. Prog. med. Chem. 5, 139–198 (1967).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Heilbrunn, L. V. & Wilson, W. L. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. Med. 70, 179–182 (1948).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ross, R. & Glomset, J. A. New Engl. J. Med. 295, 369–377 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rosenberg, R. D. New Engl. J. Med. 292, 146–151 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Essien, E. M., Kinlough-Rathbone, R., Moore, S. & Mustard, J. F. Thromb. Diath. Haemorrh. 34, 600, Abstr. (1975).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Pilcher, D. B. & Barker, W. F. Am. J. Surg. 120, 270–274 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Alrich, E. M. & Lehman, E. P. Surg. Gyn. Obs. 87, 26–30 (1948).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Stinchfield, F. E., Sankaran, B. & Samilson, R. J. Bone Jt Surg. 38 A, 270–282 (1956).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ohwiler, D. A., Jurkiewicz, M. J., Butcher, Jr, H. R. & Brown, J. B. Surg. Forum 10, 301–303 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115

    ALERANDER W. CLOWES & MORRIS J. KARNOWSKY

Authors
  1. ALERANDER W. CLOWES
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. MORRIS J. KARNOWSKY
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

CLOWES, A., KARNOWSKY, M. Suppression by heparin of smooth muscle cell proliferation in injured arteries. Nature 265, 625–626 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/265625a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/265625a0

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation