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The expression of GADD153 (growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible gene 153), an apoptosis-regulated gene, increases during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. How mechanical stretch affects the regulation of GADD153 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during apoptosis is not fully understood. We aimed to test the hypothesis that mechanical stretch induces GADD153 expression in VSMCs undergoing apoptosis.

Rat VSMCs grown on a flexible membrane base were stretched by vacuum to 20% of maximum elongation, at 60 cycles/min. An in vivo model of aorta-caval shunt in adult rats was used to investigate GADD153 expression. Cyclic stretch significantly increased GADD153 protein and mRNA expression after 18 h of stretch. Addition of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125, JNK siRNA, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α …