Endothelial Gene Expression Associated With Early Coronary Atherosclerosis
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ABSTRACT: We examined feasibility of a unique approach towards gaining insight into heritable risk for early atherosclerosis: surveying gene expression by endothelial cells from living subjects. Subjects <50 years old (mean 37, range 22-49) without obstructive coronary artery disease underwent coronary reactivity testing that identified them as having normal (NL) or abnormal (ABNL) coronary endothelial function. Cultures of Blood Outgrowth Endothelial Cells (BOEC) from 6 NLs and 13 ABNLs passed rigorous quality control and were used for microarray assessment of gene expression. Of nine genes differentially expressed at FDR<0.1%, we here focus upon ABNLs having elevated expression of HMGB1 which we unexpectedly found to be linked to low LAMC1 expression. This was corroborated by three of our past studies and confirmed bio-functionally. Compared to NL BOEC, ABNL BOEC released 13±3 fold more HMGB1 in response to LPS; and they deposited one-tenth as much LAMC1 into collagen subendothelial matrix during culture. Clinical follow-up data are provided for 4 NLs (followed 13.4±0.1 yr) and for 12 ABNLs (followed 9.1±4.5 yr). The known pathogenic effects of high-HMGB1 and low-LAMC1 predict that the combination would biologically converge upon the focal adhesion complex, to the detriment of endothelial shear responsiveness. This gene expression pattern may comprise a heritable risk state that promotes early coronary atherosclerosis. If so, the testing could be applied even in childhood, enabling early intervention. This approach offers a way to bridge the information gap between genetics and clinical phenotype.
Project description:Phenotypic heterogeneity among arterial ECs is particularly relevant to atherosclerosis since the disease occurs predominantly in major arteries, which vary in their atherosusceptibility. To explore EC heterogeneity, we used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression profiles of freshly harvested porcine coronary and iliac artery ECs. We demonstrate that in vivo the endothelial transcriptional profile of a coronary artery (the right coronary artery) is intrinsically different from that of a major conduit vessel (the external iliac artery), and that this difference is consistent with former vessel being more prone to atherosclerosis. Keywords: coronary atherosclerosis, endothelial heterogeneity, microarray, gene expression Endothelial cells were freshly harvest from right coronary, left and right iliac arteries from four pigs. RNA were isolated and expression profiles were obtained using olig microarrays.
Project description:Phenotypic heterogeneity among arterial ECs is particularly relevant to atherosclerosis since the disease occurs predominantly in major arteries, which vary in their atherosusceptibility. To explore EC heterogeneity, we used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression profiles of freshly harvested porcine coronary and iliac artery ECs. We demonstrate that in vivo the endothelial transcriptional profile of a coronary artery (the right coronary artery) is intrinsically different from that of a major conduit vessel (the external iliac artery), and that this difference is consistent with former vessel being more prone to atherosclerosis. Keywords: coronary atherosclerosis, endothelial heterogeneity, microarray, gene expression
Project description:Vascular endothelial cells play an important role in the development of coronary artery disease, their injury leads to coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to elucidate the role of FOXO3-regulated target gene expression and alternative splicing in vascular endothelial cell injury in coronary artery disease
Project description:Peripheral blood RNA-Seq from human coronary artery calcification cases and controls; Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a heritable and definitive morphologic marker of atherosclerosis that strongly predicts risk for future cardiovascular events. To search for genes involved in CAC, we used an integrative transcriptomic, genomic, and protein expression strategy using next-generation DNA sequencing in the discovery phase with follow-up studies using traditional molecular biology and histopathology techniques.
Project description:Growing evidence correlated changes in bioactive sphingolipids, particularly sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides, with coronary artery diseases. Furthermore, specific plasma ceramide species can predict major cardiovascular events. Dysfunction of the endothelium lining lesion-prone areas plays a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Yet, how sphingolipid metabolism and signaling change and contribute to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis remain poorly understood. By using a mouse model of coronary atherosclerosis, we demonstrated that hemodynamic stress induces an early metabolic rewiring of endothelial sphingolipid de novo biosynthesis favoring S1P signaling over ceramide as protective response. Furthermore, our data are paradigm shift from the current believe that ceramide accrual contributes to endothelial dysfunction. The de novo biosynthesis of sphingolipids is commenced by serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), and is downregulated by NOGO-B, an ER membrane protein. We showed that Nogo-B is upregulated by hemodynamic stress in myocardial endothelial cells (EC) of ApoE-/- mice and is expressed in the endothelium lining coronary lesions in mice and human. We demonstrated that mice lacking Nogo-B specifically in EC (Nogo-A/BECKOApoE-/-) were resistant to coronary atherosclerosis development and progression, and mortality. Fibrous cap thickness was significantly increased in Nogo-A/BECKOApoE-/- mice and correlated with reduced necrotic core and macrophage infiltration. Mechanistically, the deletion of Nogo-B in EC sustained the rewiring of sphingolipid metabolism towards S1P, imparting an atheroprotective transcriptional signature that refrain coronary atherogenesis and its progression. These findings also set forth the foundation for sphingolipid-based therapeutics to reduce the treat this condition.
Project description:Currently, it is well established that human endothelial cells (ECs) are characterised by a significant heterogeneity between distinct blood vessels, e.g., arteries, veins, capillaries, and lymphatic vessels. Further, even ECs belonging to the same lineage but grown under different flow patterns (e.g., laminar and oscillatory or turbulent flow) ostensibly have distinct molecular profiles defining their physiological behaviour. Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and human internal thoracic artery endothelial cells (HITAEC) represent two cell lines inhabiting atheroprone and atheroresistant blood vessels (coronary artery and internal thoracic artery, respectively). Resistance of the internal mammary artery to atherosclerosis has been largely attributed to the protective phenotype of HITAEC which reportedly produce higher amounts of vasodilators including nitric oxide (NO) through the respective signaling pathways. However, this hypothesis has not been adequately addressed hitherto as proteomic profiling of HCAEC and HITAEC in a head-to-head comparison setting has not been performed.
Project description:Endothelial cell (EC) sensing of fluid shear stress regulates atherosclerosis, a disease of arteries that causes heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis preferentially develops at regions of arteries exposed to low oscillatory shear stress (LOSS), whereas high shear regions are protected. We show using inducible EC-specific genetic deletion in hyperlipidaemic mice that the Notch ligands JAG1 and DLL4 have opposing roles in atherosclerosis. While endothelial Jag1 promoted atherosclerosis at sites of LOSS, endothelial Dll4 was atheroprotective. Analysis of porcine and murine arteries and cultured human coronary artery EC exposed to experimental flow revealed that JAG1 and its receptor NOTCH4 are strongly upregulated by LOSS. Functional studies in cultured cells and in mice with EC-specific deletion of Jag1 show that JAG1-NOTCH4 signalling drives vascular dysfunction by repressing endothelial repair. These data demonstrate a fundamental role for JAG1-NOTCH4 in sensing LOSS during disease, and suggest therapeutic targeting of this pathway to treat atherosclerosis.
Project description:Endothelial cell (EC) sensing of fluid shear stress regulates atherosclerosis, a disease of arteries that causes heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis preferentially develops at regions of arteries exposed to low oscillatory shear stress (LOSS), whereas high shear regions are protected. We show using inducible EC-specific genetic deletion in hyperlipidaemic mice that the Notch ligands JAG1 and DLL4 have opposing roles in atherosclerosis. While endothelial Jag1 promoted atherosclerosis at sites of LOSS, endothelial Dll4 was atheroprotective. Analysis of porcine and murine arteries and cultured human coronary artery EC exposed to experimental flow revealed that JAG1 and its receptor NOTCH4 are strongly upregulated by LOSS. Functional studies in cultured cells and in mice with EC-specific deletion of Jag1 show that JAG1-NOTCH4 signalling drives vascular dysfunction by repressing endothelial repair. These data demonstrate a fundamental role for JAG1-NOTCH4 in sensing LOSS during disease, and suggest therapeutic targeting of this pathway to treat atherosclerosis.
Project description:Genotoxic stress in mammalian cells defined as a situation that initiates DNA damage compromising the cell’s genomic integrity leading to replication and transcription arrest underlies many pathological conditions including cellular senescence, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Recent experimental data suggest that genotoxic stress in vitro induced by alkylating mutagen mitomycin C (MMC) is associated with proinflammatory activation of primary human endothelial cells and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, the key pathways underlying endothelial disfunction – an initial stage of atherosclerosis, a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Given the increasing genotoxic load on the human organism from various environmental (ionizing and UV radiation) and anthropogenic (tobacco smoke, exhaust gases, industrial waste) sources, the decryption of molecular pathways underlying genotoxic stress induced endothelial dysfunction could improve our understanding of atherogenesis and help to justification of genotoxic stress as a novel risk factor for atherosclerosis. Therefore, we performed label-free proteomic profiling of Commercially available primary human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and ) and internal thoracic artery endothelial cells (HITAEC) in vitro exposed to MMC followed by bioinformatic analysis to identify biochemical pathways and functional proteins underlying genotoxic stress induced endothelial dysfunction.