Cytostatic drugs differentially affect phenotypic features of porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cell populations

We studied the effects of cytostatic drugs on porcine coronary artery spindle-shaped (S) and rhomboid (R) smooth muscle cell (SMC) biological activities related to intimal thickening (IT) formation.Imatinib, and to a lesser extent curcumin, decreased proliferation of S- and R-SMCs and migratory and urokinase activities of R-SMCs more efficiently compared with cyclosporine plus rapamycin. Imatinib increased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin in both SMC populations and that of smoothelin in S-SMCs. It decreased S100A4 expression in R-SMCs.By promoting SMC quiescence and differentiation imatinib and curcumin may represent valid candidates for restenosis preventive and therapeutic strategies.