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February 6, 2026European Heart Journal

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics identifies high glucose-induced changes in vascular smooth muscle (VSMCs) and sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) activation

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Why the study?

Coexistence of diabetes and hypertension exacerbates cardiovascular morbidity, but the effects of acute glucose exposure on vascular smooth muscle cell protein expression and ERK-related remodeling pathways remained unclear.

Does high glucose exposure alter protein expression and ERK-related signaling in rat aortic smooth muscle cells?

Population

Rat aortic smooth muscle cells isolated from male Wistar rats

Comparison

High glucose (20 mM) vs low glucose (5 mM)

Design

In vitro proteomics study

Follow-up

6 days

Key result

Short-term exposure to high glucose (20 mM) in rat aortic smooth muscle cells significantly upregulated 21 proteins (p<0.05) linked to MAPK/ERK signaling and oxidative stress.

Authors

RAR A W A N AldahhasiJWJ O N WilletsDJD O N A L D Jones

Discussion

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Member takes

Overview

Should not change clinical practice; leaves open whether these proteomic shifts drive human diabetic vasculopathy.

Key Points

  • The aim is to investigate how high glucose affects protein expression and ERK-related protein interactions in vascular smooth muscle cells.
  • Isolated rat aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured under low and high glucose conditions.
  • Mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used for protein analysis.
  • Statistical analysis was performed using a bespoke R pipeline with the Limma package.
  • String-based network analysis identified ERK-related signalling proteins.
  • A total of 2,317 proteins were identified, with 21 significantly upregulated under high glucose (p < 0.05, log2FC > 1).
  • High glucose induced distinct changes in the proteome compared to low glucose conditions.
  • Key proteins in MAPK/ERK signalling and oxidative stress were found to be enriched, impacting vascular remodelling.

Structured PICO

Does high glucose exposure alter protein expression and ERK-related signaling in rat aortic smooth muscle cells?

P
Population
Rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASM) isolated from male Wistar rats
I
Intervention
High glucose (20 mM) exposure for 6 days
C
Comparator
Low glucose (5 mM) exposure for 6 days
O
Outcome
Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and ERK-related protein interactionssurrogate

Main Result

p-value: p=<0.05

Short-term high glucose exposure induces significant proteomic changes in vascular smooth muscle cells, upregulating MAPK/ERK signaling and oxidative stress pathways, which may contribute to vascular remodeling in diabetes.

Cite This Study

Aldahhasi et al. (2025) studied High glucose-induced changes in vascular smooth muscle cells. High glucose vs. Low glucose (5 mM) was evaluated on Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) (p=<0.05). Short-term exposure to high glucose (20 mM) in rat aortic smooth muscle cells significantly upregulated 21 proteins (p<0.05) linked to MAPK/ERK signaling and oxidative stress.

synapsesocial.com/papers/698586388f7c464f2300a2eehttps://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf784.4853
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