Sucrose inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration--protein synthesis is maintained.

We have previously shown that the onset of smooth muscle cell proliferation in tissue cultures is triggered independently of serum. The aim of the present study was to investigate if this process was affected by osmotic stress. Vascular explants from 8-month-old male rats were cultured under serum-free conditions using collagen I as migration substrate. Sucrose was added to the culture medium in concentrations varying from 1 to 3% (30-90 mOsM). Cell migration from aortic explants onto the culture dishes was totally inhibited at a sucrose concentration of 90 mOsM. A significant dose-dependent decline in proliferation was shown for cells in explants pulse labelled with 3H-thymidine. In contrast, pulse labelling with 35S-methionine revealed that protein synthesis was maintained in the presence of sucrose. The results indicate that osmotic pressure affects smooth muscle cell protein synthesis, proliferation and migration.