SEPARATION OF ARTERIAL SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL SUBPOPULATIONS WITH DIFFERENT GROWTH PATTERNS

Abstract

Smooth muscle cell (smc) cultures of [human and rabbit] arterial intima and media were fractionated into 2 subpopulations of smc depending on the capacity for adhesion. The cells of the subpopulations were different structurally and displayed different patterns of growth. The high-adhesive cells (A-cells) grew as monolayer while the low-adhesive (I-cells) had a marked tendency to multilayered growth. On continued cultivation the I-cells showed excessive mound formation and even formation of macroscopically visible tissue-like pieces, some of which detached spontaneously from the substratum. The dual nature of arterial smooth muscle cells may reflect specialized subpopulations of cells with one variety, the I-cell, possibly involved in repair and remodeling of the artery.