Project description:Early postnatal life is considered as a critical time window for determination of long-term metabolic states and organ functions. Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) causes the development of adult onset chronic diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the effects of nutritional disadvantages during early postnatal period on pulmonary vascular consequences in later life are not fully understood. Our study was designed to test whether epigentic dysregulation mediates the cellular memory of this early postnatal event. To test this hypothesis, we isolated pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVEC) by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) from EUGR and control rats. A postnatal insult, nutritional restriction-induced EUGR caused development of an increased pulmonary artery pressure at 9-week of age in male rats. MeDIP-chip (Methyl-DNA immune precipitation chip), genome-scale mapping studies to search for differentially methylated loci between control and EUGR rats revealed significant difference in cytosine methylation between EUGR and control rats. We validated candidate dysregulated loci with quantitative assays of cytosine methylation and gene expressions. EUGR changes cytosine methylation at ~500 loci in male rats at 9 weeks of age, preceding the development of PAH and these represent candidate loci for mediating the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular disease that occurs later in life. These results demonstrate that epigenetic dysregulation is a strong mechanism for propagating the cellular memory of early postnatal events, causing changes in expression of genes and long term susceptibility to PAH, and further providing a new insight into prevention and treatment of EUGR-related PAH. MeDIP together with microarray analysis demonstrated that significant differences in cytosine methylation between EUGR and control rats. Comparison of EUGR(n=3) vs Control (n=3) male rats' pulmonary vascular endothelial cells in 9-week age old rats
Project description:Early postnatal life is considered as a critical time window for determination of long-term metabolic states and organ functions. Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) causes the development of adult onset chronic diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the effects of nutritional disadvantages during early postnatal period on pulmonary vascular consequences in later life are not fully understood. Our study was designed to test whether epigentic dysregulation mediates the cellular memory of this early postnatal event. To test this hypothesis, we isolated pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVEC) by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) from EUGR and control rats. A postnatal insult, nutritional restriction-induced EUGR caused development of an increased pulmonary artery pressure at 9-week of age in male rats. MeDIP-chip (Methyl-DNA immune precipitation chip), genome-scale mapping studies to search for differentially methylated loci between control and EUGR rats revealed significant difference in cytosine methylation between EUGR and control rats. We validated candidate dysregulated loci with quantitative assays of cytosine methylation and gene expressions. EUGR changes cytosine methylation at ~500 loci in male rats at 9 weeks of age, preceding the development of PAH and these represent candidate loci for mediating the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular disease that occurs later in life. These results demonstrate that epigenetic dysregulation is a strong mechanism for propagating the cellular memory of early postnatal events, causing changes in expression of genes and long term susceptibility to PAH, and further providing a new insight into prevention and treatment of EUGR-related PAH. MeDIP together with microarray analysis demonstrated that significant differences in cytosine methylation between EUGR and control rats.
Project description:Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and incurable pulmonary vascular disease. One of the primary origins of PAH is pulmonary endothelial dysfunction leading to vasoconstriction, aberrant angiogenesis and smooth muscle cell proliferation, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, thrombosis and inflammation. Our objective was to study the epigenetic variations in pulmonary endothelial cells (PEC) through a specific pattern of DNA methylation.
Project description:Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and incurable pulmonary vascular disease. One of the primary origins of PAH is pulmonary endothelial dysfunction leading to vasoconstriction, aberrant angiogenesis and smooth muscle cell proliferation, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, thrombosis and inflammation. Our objective was to study the epigenetic variations in pulmonary endothelial cells (PEC) through a specific pattern of DNA methylation. DNA was extracted from cultured PEC from patients with idiopathic PAH (n=11), heritable PAH (n=10) and controls (n=18). ). DNA methylation was assessed using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 Assay. After normalization, samples and probes were clustered according to their methylation profile. Differential clusters were functionally analysed using bioinformatics tools.
Project description:Sickle cell disease is characterized by hemolysis, vaso-occlusion and ischemia reperfusion injury. These events cause endothelial dysfunction and vasculopathies in multiple systems However, the lack of atherosclerotic lesions has led to the idea that there are adaptive mechanisms that protect the endothelium from major vascular insults in SCD patients. The molecular bases for this phenomenon are poorly defined. This study was designed to identify the global profile of genes induced by heme in the endothelium. Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs), and human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were grown to confluence, and treated with freshly prepared ferric heme every 48 hours for 7 days. Total RNA was extracted, used for microarray analysis, using an Affymetric U133 plus 2.0 chip
Project description:Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease characterized by a proliferative endothelial cell phenotype, inflammation and pulmonary vascular remodeling. BMPR2 loss-of-function has been linked to pathologic plexiform lesions with obliteration of distal pulmonary arteries distal pulmonary arteries BMPR2 silencing inprimary human pulmonary artery ECs (HPAECs) recapitulate important aspects of cellular dysfunction and deregulated signaling associated with PAH. Primary HPAECs were transfected with gene-specific siRNA pools targeting BMPR2 or control siRNA followed PMA or control stimulation.
Project description:Pulmonary endothelial dysfunction plays an integral role in mediating the initiation and progression of pulmonary vascular remodelling, an important feature of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Our aim was to decipher the gene expression program of endothelial cells derived from circulating endothelial progenitor (EPCs) to gain insight into the pathological process of PAH associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc), which is the most extreme vascular phenotype of this disease. We used microarrays to investigate the gene expression profile in late outgrowth EPC-derived endothelial cells issued from SSc-PAH patients, in comparison with SSc patients without PAH and healthy controls.
Project description:Endothelial cells line the inside of all blood vessels forming a single layer of quiescent, non-proliferating cells. While the mechanisms of sprouting angiogenesis, network formation and vascular remodelling are molecularly unravelled in increasing detail, the molecular mechanisms of vascular maturation are still poorly understood. We performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on endothelial cells isolated from infant and adult mice to establish the epigenetic landscape of vascular maturation.
Project description:Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease characterized by a proliferative endothelial cell phenotype, inflammation and pulmonary vascular remodeling. BMPR2 loss-of-function has been linked to pathologic plexiform lesions with obliteration of distal pulmonary arteries distal pulmonary arteries BMPR2 silencing inprimary human pulmonary artery ECs (HPAECs) recapitulate important aspects of cellular dysfunction and deregulated signaling associated with PAH.
Project description:Purpose: While women are more susceptible to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) than men, their right ventricular (RV) function is better preserved. Experimental studies have identified estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) as a likely mediator for estrogen protection in the RV. However, the role of ERα in preserving RV function and remodeling during pressure overload remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that loss of functional ERα removes female protection from adverse remodeling and is permissive for development of a maladapted RV phenotype. Methods: Male and female rats with a loss-of-function mutation in ERα (ERαMut) and wildtype (WT) littermates, while at their surgical plane of anesthesia, underwent RV pressure overload by pulmonary artery banding (PAB) or a sham surgery. Results: At 10 weeks post-PAB, WT and ERαMut demonstrated RV hypertrophy. Single beat analysis and Tau Weiss calculation from RV pressure waveforms (collected during surgical plane of anesthesia) demonstrated uncoupling of the RV-pulmonary vascular circuit and diastolic dysfunction, respectively, in female, but not male, ERαMut PAB rats. Similarly, female, but not male, ERαMut exhibited increased RV fibrosis, comprised primarily of stiffer collagen type I, suggesting RV stiffening by collagen type I accumulation. RNA-sequencing in female WT and ERαMut RV revealed Kallikrein related-peptidase 10 (Klk10) and Jun Proto-Oncogene (Jun) as possible mediators of female RV protection during PAB. Conclusions: ERα in females is protective against RV-pulmonary vascular uncoupling, diastolic dysfunction, and fibrosis in response to pressure overload. ERα appears to be dispensable for RV adaptation in males. ERα may be a mediator of superior RV adaptation in female patients with PAH.