Inhibition of caspase-3 differentially affects vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis in the concave versus convex aortic sites in ascending aneurysms with a bicuspid aortic valve

Inhibition of caspase-3 with Ac-DEVD-CHO protected VSMCs against calcium chloride apoptosis significantly more in the concave site than in the convex site (25.8±9.8 versus 38.5±8.0% apoptotic cells, p=0.01). Morphological scanning using light microscopy revealed typical VSMCs. We provide evidence that VSMCs show a different behavior with respect to apoptosis in the concave versus the convex sites in BAV ascending aortic aneurysm. Inhibition of caspase-3 resulted in a significantly increased protection of VSMCs against apoptosis in the concave site compared with the convex site in ascending aortic aneurysm in BAV. These findings may have some implications on understanding aneurysmal formation and its potential modulation.