Gene expression profiling of Tsp1 deficient rat aortic smooth muscle cells with mechanical stretch

The extracellular matrix (ECM) initiates mechanical cues and transduces intracellular signaling through matrix-cell interactions. The nature of cues and how they coordinate with a mechanical microenvironment are not fully understood. We identified the matricellular protein, thrombospondin-1 (Tsp1, also called Thbs1), as a mediator of matrix mechanotransduction that acts via integrin avß1 to establish focal adhesions and promotes nuclear shuttling of Yes-associated protein (YAP) in response to cyclic stretch. Thbs1-mediated YAP activation depends on the small GTPase Rap2 and Hippo pathway, and is not influenced by altered actin fibers. Hence, to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the Tsp1-mediated matrix mechanotransduction, we performed a comprehensive analysis of gene expression changes in Tsp1deficiant SMCs with mechanical stretch using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Overall design: mRNA profiles of rat aortic smooth muscle cells were generated by RNA sequencing using the NextSeq 500 (Illumina).