Colchicine Inhibits Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Switch and Aortic Dissection in Mice

Abstract Aortic dissection is a serious cardiovascular disease characterized by intimal tearing and vascular delamination. Smooth muscle cell phenotypic transformation, extracellular matrix degradation and vascular inflammation are the main pathogenic mechanisms of aortic dissection. Colchicine is an alkaloid derived from the plant Colchicum autumnale L. and was the first FDA-approved anti-inflammatory drug in the cardiovascular field. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of colchicine in aortic dissection in mice and found that colchicine resisted aortic dissection by inhibiting vascular inflammation and smooth muscle cell phenotypic transformation, and that colchicine reversed smooth muscle cell phenotypic transformation by targeting the transcriptional activator myocardin. This study provides new directions for the development of drug therapies for aortic dissection.