A quantitative proteomic analysis of growth factor-induced compositional changes in lipid rafts of human smooth muscle cells

Signals that promote proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMC) have been implicated in pathologic growth of hollow organs. Members of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family, potent mitogens and motility factors for SMC, have been shown to signal through cholesterol-enriched lipid rafts. We recently demonstrated that PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis in urinary tract SMC was dependent on the integrity of lipid rafts. Despite its known ability to rapidly alter discrete proteins within rafts, the effect of PDGF on overall raft protein composition is unknown. In this study, we employed isotope coded affinity tag (ICAT) analysis to evaluate PDGF-induced protein changes in lipid rafts of primary culture human SMC. Following acute (i.e., 15 min) exposure of SMC to PDGF, 23 proteins increased in rafts >20%. In contrast, raft localization of only three proteins increased after 12 h of PDGF treatment. Among the proteins that increased at 15 min were the glycophosphatidylinositol- anchored proteins Thy-1, 5′-nucleotidase, and CD55, the cytoskeletal proteins actin, actinin, tropomyosin-3 and -4, and the endocytosis-related proteins clathrin and β-adaptin. In addition, eight Rho family members were localized to rafts by ICAT analysis. Collectively, these observations suggest a role for lipid rafts in regulation of PDGF-stimulated changes in the cytoskeleton.