Isolation of murine primary aortic smooth muscle cells

Abstract

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) have been cultured for decades to study the role of these cells in cardiovascular disorders. The most common source of VSMCs is the rat aorta. Here we show the adaptation of this method to isolate and culture mouse aortic VSMCs. The advantage of this method is that there are many more transgenic mouse lines available compared to rats. The protocol consists of the isolation of the aorta, the liberation of vascular cells by the action of collagenase, culturing of VSCMs, and analyzing filamentous actin and alpha smooth muscle actin by fluorescence microscopy. VSCMs can be further used to study mechanisms underlying cardiovascular diseases.