Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression pattern of PDLIM3 in the aorta of patients with aortic dissection (AD) and its clinical significance. Methods Aortic tissue specimens from aortic dissection patients(n=34) and heart transplant recipients(n=22) who received surgical treatment in Tongji Hospital from January 2017 to December 2018 were collected.The structural changes of aortic wall were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and elastic fiber staining (EVG).Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of PDLIM3 in aortic samples.The correlation between the expression levels of PDLIM3 and the aortic diameter was analyzed by using Pearson correlation analysis. Results HE and EVG staining showed that the middle layer of aortic wall became thinner, elastic fiber fracture increased, vascular smooth muscle cellloss and with smaller volume and morphology changes.The mRNA expression levels of PDLIM3 in aorta of patients with aortic dissection were significantly down-regulated compared with that of the transplanted recipients(P<0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that the expression of PDLIM3 gene was not significantly associated with the aortic diameter of patient with aortic dissection. Conclusion PDLIM3 expression level is down-regulated in aorta of patients with aortic dissection and may be associated with the occurrence of aortic dissection in patients.

Key words: aortic dissection, PDLIM3, vascular smooth muscle cell, aortic diameter