Globular adiponectin reduces vascular calcification via inhibition of ER-stress-mediated smooth muscle cell apoptosis

Objective: This study aims to explore the mechanism of globular adiponectin inhibiting vascular calcification. Methods: We established drug-induced rat vascular calcification model, globular adiponectin was given to observe the effect of globular Adiponectin on the degree of calcification. The markers of vascular calcification and apoptosis were also investigated. Meanwhile, the in vitro effect of globular Adiponectin on vascular calcification was also evaluated using primary cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells. Results: We found that globular adiponectin could inhibit drug-induced rat vascular calcification significantly in vivo. The apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells was also reduced. The possible mechanism could be the down-regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress by globular adiponectin. Experiments in primary cultured vascular smooth muscle cells also confirmed that globular adiponectin could reduce cell apoptosis to suppress vascular calcification via inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Conclusions: This study confirmed that globular adiponectin could suppress vascular calcification; one of the mechanisms could be inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress to reduce cell apoptosis. It could provide an effective method in the therapy of vascular calcification-associated diseases.