Expression of Calponin mRNA in Porcine Aortic Endothelial Cells

Abstract Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we determined the expression of the mRNAs for basic calponin isoforms, namely h 1 and h 2 forms, in the porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAECs) and aortic smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). The mRNAs for both h 1 and h 2 calponin isoforms were expressed in PAECs as well as in PASMCs. However, the expression of h 2 isoform mRNA was more abundant than h 1 isoform in PAECs, while h 1 isoform was more abundant than h 2 in PASMCs. These findings indicated the existence of calponin mRNA and the predominance of h 2 over h 1 calponin isoform in PAECs. It is suggested that h 2 as well as h 1 , calponin isoform might have a physiological role in vascular endothelial cell. This is the first report which describes the existence of calponin h 2 -dominant cells.