Abstract: Objective To explore the expression of caveolin-1 in the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) into vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC). Methods BMSCs from SD rats were cultured in vitro by whole-bone marrow culture. Then, testing the differentiation potential of stem cells through adipogenic, osteoplastic and chondrogenic differentiation. BMSCs were induced to differentiate into VSMC by transforming growth factor-β 1(TGF-β1) in vitro. Western blot was performed to evaluate the expression of SM-MHC, SM22α and caveolin-1. Results TGF-β1 treatment increased the expression of caveolin-1, SM-MHC and myocardin in a time dependent manner. During the stage of BMSCs differentiate into vascular smooth muscle cells, the expression of caveolin-1 was specifically increased. Conclusions This study implies that caveolin-1 may be related to the formation of smooth muscle cells derived from stem cells.

Key words: bone mesenchymal stem cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, caveolin-1, stem cell differentiation