The comprehensive transcriptome of human ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cells (hDASMC)

The Ductus Arteriosus (DA) is a fetal vessel that connects the aorta to the pulmonary artery ensuring that placental oxygenated blood is diverted from the lungs to the systemic circulation. Following exposure to oxygen (O2), in the first few days of life, the DA responds with a functional closure that is followed by anatomical closure. Here, we study human DA smooth muscle cells (DASMC) taken from 10 term infants during congenital heart surgery. Purification of these cells using flow cytometry ensured a pure population of DASMCs, which we confirmed as responsive to O2. An oxygen-induced increase in intracellular calcium of 18.1%4.4% and SMC constriction (-27%±1.5% shortening) occurred in all cell lines within five minutes. These cells were maintained in either hypoxia (2.5% O2), mimicking in utero conditions or in normoxia (19% O2) mimicking neonate conditions. We then used 3’ RNAsequencing to identify the transcriptome of DASMCs in each condition