Abstract: Objective To evaluate the role of Talin1 in the migration of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) induced by the serum from rats with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). Methods Twenty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used as HPS rat models by chronic common bile duct ligation, the serum was collected from abdominal aorta. PASMCs were seeded in 6-well and 24-well plates and randomly divided into control group and HPS group. The cells were transfected with Talin1 or control siRNA. The normal rat serum or HPS rat serum with a final concentration of 5% was added respectively. At 24 hours after cell transfection or at 24 hours (T1), 48 hours (T2) and 72 hours (T3) of cell incubation, the protein expression of Talin1 and active Integin β1 in PASMCs were determined by Western blot; The migration of PASMCs was measured by Transwell chamber (T1) and scratch assay (T1 to T3). Results Compared to control group, with the extension of the stimulation time in the HPS group, the expression of Talin1 protein was upregulated, and the migration of PASMCs was gradually enhanced (P＜0.05); Talin1 siRNA effectively silenced the Talin1 gene; The expression of active Integin β1 protein and the migration of PASMCs in the HPS group + si control were enhanced (P＜0.05); Compared with the HPS group + si control, the expression of active Integin β1 protein and the migration of PASMCs in the HPS group + siTalin1 were significantly inhibited (P＜0.05). Conclusions Downregulating expression of Talin1 protein inhibits migration of PASMCs and expression of active Integin β1 protein induced by the serum from HPS rats.

Key words: hepatopulmonary syndrome, pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, Talin1, Integrin β1