Functional analysis of CCN3, a novel growth inhibitor for vascular smooth muscle cells, and its application in the treatment of vascular diseases.

CCN3属于CCN家族，由多种功能分泌的蛋白质组成，作为基质细胞的调节因子。CCN3抑制胎牛血清诱导的大鼠血管平滑肌细胞(VSMC)迁移和增殖。建立CCN3基因敲除小鼠，观察光化学诱导血栓形成后新生内膜的增殖情况。血管内皮损伤后21天的组织病理学评估显示，与野生型相比，空白小鼠的新生内膜增厚增加了6倍。我们的发现表明，CCN3参与了血管内稳态，特别是在损伤时，以及该分子在动脉粥样硬化性血管疾病的调节中的潜在作用。

CCN3 belongs to CCN family, which constitutes multifunctional secreted proteins that act as matricellular regulators. CCN3 suppressed the rat smooth muscle cells (VSMC) migration as well as proliferation induced by fetal bovine serum. CCN3 knockout mice were created and the neointimal hyperplasia induced by photochemically-induced thrombosis, were investigated. Histopathological evaluation of the arteries 21 days after the endothelial injury revealed a 6-fold enhancement of neointimal thickening in the null mice compared with the wild-type. Our findings indicate the involvement of CCN3 in vascular homeostasis, especially upon injury, and the potential usefulness of this molecule in the modulation of atherosclerotic vascular disease.