UCLA

Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) drives endothelium to contribute to atherosclerotic calcification. In a previous study, we showed that glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) inhibition induced β-catenin and reduced mothers against DPP homolog 1 (SMAD1) in order to redirect osteoblast-like cells towards endothelial lineage, thereby reducing vascular calcification in Matrix Gla Protein (Mgp) deficiency and diabetic Ins2^Akita/wt mice. Here, we report that GSK3β inhibition or endothelial-specific deletion of GSK3β reduces atherosclerotic calcification. We also find that alterations in β-catenin and SMAD1 induced by GSK3β inhibition in the aortas of Apoe^-/- mice are similar to Mgp^-/- mice. Together, our results suggest that GSK3β inhibition reduces vascular calcification in atherosclerotic lesions through a similar mechanism to that in Mgp^-/- mice.