Myocardin regulates expression of contractile genes in smooth muscle cells and is required for closure of the ductus arteriosus in mice
J. Clin. Invest. Jianhe Huang, et al. 118:515 doi:10.1172/JCI33304 [Go to this article.]

Figure 4
SMCs populating the DA of Myocd conditional mutant mice exhibit markedly diminished expression of SMC contractile proteins. (A and B) H&E-stained section of the DA of Myocd^F/F control mouse (A) and Myocd^F/F/Wnt1-Cre⁺ mutant mouse (B). (C, E, and G) Immunohistochemical analyses of the DA of E16.5 Myocd^F/F control mouse demonstrating robust expression of SMA (green staining) (C), SM-MyHC (red staining) (E), and SM22α (green staining) (G). (D, F, and H) By contrast, expression of SMA (D), SM-MyHC (F), and SM22α (H) is markedly diminished in the DA of E16.5 Myocd^F/F/Wnt1-Cre⁺ mutant mice. (I and J) X-gal–stained section of P2 Myocd^F/F/Wnt1-Cre⁺/R26R⁺ triple mutant mice revealed that essentially all SMCs populating the DA express β-galactosidase (blue stain), confirming that these cells are of neural crest origin. Original magnification, ×100 (A–I); ×200 (J).