19 BCR SERINE/THREONINE KINASE ENHANCES ANGIOTENSIN II-MEDIATED NUCLEAR FACTOR κB TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS VIA INHIBITION OF PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTOR γ.

Bcr is a serine/threonine kinase and is highly expressed in the neointima after vascular injury. Because angiotensin II (Ang II) and inflammation play important roles in the development of intimal proliferation, we hypothesized that Bcr is an important regulator of Ang II-mediated nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation. By transfecting vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) with dominant negative Bcr (DN-Bcr), we demonstrated that DN-Bcr inhibited Ang II-mediated NF-κB activation in VSMCs (82 ± 10% inhibition, n = 3, p n = 3, p p p p