Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional
protein 3 (AIMP3), a
tumor suppressor, mediates a progeroid phenotype in mice by downregulating
lamin A. We investigated whether AIMP3 induces
laminopathy and senescence of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and is associated with vascular aging in mice and humans in line with decreased
lamin A expression. Cellular senescence was evaluated after transfecting HASMCs with AIMP3. Molecular analyses of genes encoding AIMP3,
lamin A,
chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), and
C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) and histological comparisons of aortas were performed with mice at various ages (7 weeks, 5 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 32 months), AIMP3-transgenic mice, and human femoral arteries of cadavers. AIMP3-transfected HASMCs exhibited increased AIMP3 and senescence marker p16
protein expression and decreased
lamin A protein expression in accordance with their disrupted nuclear morphology in histological analyses. AIMP3-transgenic mice displayed increased AIMP3
protein expression and decreased
lamin A protein expression in aortas together with typical aging pathologies. Similar changes were observed in wild-type aging (24-month-old) mice but not in wild-type young (7-week-old) mice. In humans, AIMP3 and
lamin A protein expression was higher and lower, respectively, in femoral arteries of elderly individuals than in those of their younger counterparts. This study found that AIMP3 overexpression in vitro decreased
lamin A expression and induced nuclear
laminopathy and cellular senescence. Similar findings were made in the vasculature of aging mice and elderly humans.