Involvement of PKC and NF-κB in Nitric Oxide Induced Apoptosis in Human Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells

Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells is critically involved in progression of atherosclerosis and may prevent intimal hyperplasia in restenosis and vascular remodeling. Nitric oxide (NO) is known to induce apoptosis, but the signaling pathways still remain unclear. We investigated p53 accumulation, protein kinase C (PKC) activation and nuclear transcription factor (NF-kappaB) binding activity as possible signaling mechanisms of NO-induced apoptosis. Apoptosis was induced dose-dependently with the NO-donors sodiumnitroprusside (SNP: 232+/-48%) and SIN-1 (241+/-90% of actinomycin D induced apoptosis; means +/- SEM, *por =0.05 vs. control) in HSMC. Inhibition of PKC significantly attenuat…