Vascular actions of the bisphosphonate alendronate on cellular events involved in vessel remodeling

CAMPELO A.; MASSHEIMER V.; CUTINI P.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXIII Reunión Anual de la SAIC. LXVI Reunión Anual de la SAI. Reunión Anual de la SAFIS. Con Participación de la SAV y la NANOMEDar; 2018

Bisphosphonates are drugs used for postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment. Cardiovascular disease is a pathophysiological condition prevalent in menopausal women. Within artery wall, atherosclerosis lesion and subsequent plaque calcification mainly compromise vascular architecture. Neovascularization is a survival option for damaged tissue. In this work, we investigate the effect of the bisphosphonate alendronate (ALN) on cellular events that affect vessel remodeling such as cell proliferation and migration, and angiogenesis under pro-calcifying conditions. Primary cultures of endothelial cells (EC) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) isolated from murine aorta were employed. In order to induce vascular calcification, VSMC were cultured for 21 days in osteogenic medium. Tube formation assay was used to evaluate angiogenesis. Total tube length of vessel segments was quantified using optical microscopy and ImageJ software. The bisphosphonate (5 µM) significantly enhanced tube formation after 4 days of treatment (41% above control, p