Skip Navigation



Rheumatology Advance Access published online on December 14, 2004
Rheumatology, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keh515
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
44/4/484    most recent
keh515v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
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 Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bertipaglia, B.
Right arrow Articles by Pauletto, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bertipaglia, B.
Right arrow Articles by Pauletto, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Society for Rheumatology; all rights reserved
Received September 13, 2004
Accepted November 9, 2004

Concise report

Is apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells involved in the development of Takayasu arteritis? Suggestions from a case report

B. Bertipaglia 1, E. Faggin 1, U. Cillo 2, G. Zanus 2, A. Angelini 3, and P. Pauletto 1*

1 Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Padua, Italy
2 Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, Italy
3 Department of Pathology, University of Padua, Italy

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
P. Pauletto, E-mail: paolo.pauletto{at}unipd.it


  Abstract

Objectives. We report a female patient suffering from Takayasu arteritis (TA) who underwent surgical revascularization.

Methods. By studying specimens obtained at surgery, we evaluated the cell composition of the arterial wall, along with the maturation pattern of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) during the active phase of TA. Using TUNEL, we detected apoptotic cells within the tunica media.

Results. The highest percentage of apoptotic cells was found in areas where inflammatory infiltrate was present and the medial structure was more or less damaged. Apoptotic cells were also found in structurally preserved areas, where VSMC but not inflammatory cells were present.

Conclusions. Apoptosis involved not only inflammatory cells but also VSMC, particularly those of the immature type. We hypothesize a role for VSMC apoptosis in the development of TA.

Keywords: Takayasu arteritis; Apoptosis; VSMC.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.