THYMOSIN beta 4-A NOVEL REGULATOR OF LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN RECEPTOR RELATED PROTEIN 1 (LRP1) IN VASCULAR DISEASE

Vascular stability and tone are maintained by contractile smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Injury-induced growth factors stimulate a phenotypic switching of VSMCs, from their quiescent contractile state to a more active synthetic phenotype that proliferate and migrate. Chronic VSMC dedifferentiation leads to vascular thickening and stiffness, exacerbates inflammation and promotes atherosclerotic lesion development and susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Inhibiting VSMC phenotypic transformation has thus been shown to attenuate progression of vascular disease. We previously identified Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) as a key regulator of embryonic VSMC differentiation. TMSB4X, encoding Tβ4, is the most abundant transcript in healthy and AAA aorta, therefore we hypothesised that Tβ4 may additionally function to maintain vasculature and protect against disease throughout postnatal life. We identified an …