Increased β-adrenergic stimulation augments vascular smooth muscle cell calcification via PKA/CREB signalling

In chronic kidney disease (CKD), hyperphosphatemia promotes medial vascular calcification, a process augmented by osteogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). VSMC function is regulated by sympathetic innervation, and these cells express α- and β-adrenergic receptors. The present study explored the effects of β2-adrenergic stimulation by isoproterenol on VSMC calcification. Experiments were performed in primary human aortic VSMCs treated with isoproterenol during control or high phosphate conditions. As a result, isoproterenol dose dependently up-regulated the expression of osteogenic markers core-binding factor α-1 (CBFA1) and tissue-nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase (ALPL) in VSMCs. Furthermore, prolonged isoproterenol exposure augmented phosphate-induced calcification of VSMCs. Isoproterenol increased the activation of PKA and CREB, while knockdown of the PKA catalytic subunit α (PRKACA) or of CREB1 genes was able to suppress the pro-calcific effects of isoproterenol in VSMCs. β2-adrenergic receptor silencing or inhibition with the selective antagonist ICI 118,551 blocked isoproterenol-induced osteogenic signalling in VSMCs. The present observations imply a pro-calcific effect of β2-adrenergic overstimulation in VSMCs, which is mediated, at least partly, by PKA/CREB signalling. These observations may support a link between sympathetic overactivity in CKD and vascular calcification.