Cultured arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) with distinct phenotypic features have been described by several laboratories; however, it is not presently known whether this phenotypic heterogeneity can be maintained within an in vivo environment. To answer this question, we have seeded into the intima of denuded rat carotid artery 2 SMC populations with well-established distinct biological features, ie, spindle-shaped, not growing in the absence of serum, and well differentiated versus epithelioid, growing in the absence of serum, and relatively undifferentiated, derived from the aortic media of newborn rats (aged 4 days) and old rats (aged > 18 months), respectively. We show that these 2 populations maintain their distinct biochemical features tie, expression of ct-smooth muscle actin, smooth muscle myosin heavy chains, and cellular retinol binding protein-1) in the in vivo environment. The old rat media-derived SMCs continue to produce cellular retinol binding protein-1 but little alpha -smooth muscle actin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chains, whereas the newborn rat media-derived SMCs continue to express cc-smooth muscle actin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chains but no cellular retinol binding protein-1. Our results reinforce the notion of arterial SMC phenotypic heterogeneity and suggest that in our model, heterogeneity is controlled genetically and not by the local environment.
