Project description:One pending issue in cardiovascular epigenetics is whether cerebrovascular events, a major complication of atherosclerosis, are associated with any specific DNA methylation changes in the carotid plaque. To clarify that topic, we profiled the DNA methylomes of human symptomatic carotid plaques (SCPs) obtained from patients who suffered cerebrovascular events (n=19) and asymptomatic counterparts (ACP; n=19) with a high-density microarray (~485,000 CpG sites, Illumina), and crossed DNA methylation data with RNAseq-based expression data from an independent SCP set (n=8). Few (30) CpGs showed a significant (p<0.05; absolute Delta-Beta>0.20) differential methylation between the two groups. Within SCPs, methylation correlated significantly with post-cerebrovascular event time (PCET; range: 3-45 days; r-value range -0.926 to 0.857; p<0.05) for ~45,000 CpGs, the vast majority of which became hypomethylated with increasing PCET. Hypomethylation was not due to erasure of the gene-body and CG-poor region hypermethylation that accompany the progression of stable lesions, but rather targeted promoters and CpG islands. Noticeably, promoter hypomethylation and increased expression were observed for genes involved in the inhibition of the inflammatory response, defence against oxidative stress and active DNA demethylation. Our data show that only weak changes in the DNA methylome distinguish symptomatic from asymptomatic carotid plaques, but a widespread demethylation resulting in permissive transcriptional marks at atheroprotective gene promoters is established in plaques after a cerebrovascular event, thus mirroring previous observations that ruptured plaques tend to revert to a more stable structure. The identified loci are candidate targets to accelerate the pace of carotid plaque stabilization. DNA was quantified by Quant-iT PicoGreen dsDNA Reagent (Invitrogen) and the integrity was analyzed in a 1.3% agarose gel. Bisulfite conversion of 600 ng of each sample was perform according to the manufacturer's recommendation for Illumina Infinium Assay. Effective bisulphite conversion was checked for three controls that were converted simultaneously with the samples. 4 ul of bisulfite converted DNA were used to hybridize on Infinium HumanMethylation 450 BeadChip, following Illumina Infinium HD Methylation protocol. Chip analysis was performed using Illumina HiScan SQ fluorescent scanner. The intensities of the images are extracted using GenomeStudio (2011.2) Methylation module (1.8.5) software. Methylation score of each CpG is represented as beta value.
Project description:One pending issue in cardiovascular epigenetics is whether cerebrovascular events, a major complication of atherosclerosis, are associated with any specific DNA methylation changes in the carotid plaque. To clarify that topic, we profiled the DNA methylomes of human symptomatic carotid plaques (SCPs) obtained from patients who suffered cerebrovascular events (n=19) and asymptomatic counterparts (ACP; n=19) with a high-density microarray (~485,000 CpG sites, Illumina), and crossed DNA methylation data with RNAseq-based expression data from an independent SCP set (n=8). Few (30) CpGs showed a significant (p<0.05; absolute Delta-Beta>0.20) differential methylation between the two groups. Within SCPs, methylation correlated significantly with post-cerebrovascular event time (PCET; range: 3-45 days; r-value range -0.926 to 0.857; p<0.05) for ~45,000 CpGs, the vast majority of which became hypomethylated with increasing PCET. Hypomethylation was not due to erasure of the gene-body and CG-poor region hypermethylation that accompany the progression of stable lesions, but rather targeted promoters and CpG islands. Noticeably, promoter hypomethylation and increased expression were observed for genes involved in the inhibition of the inflammatory response, defence against oxidative stress and active DNA demethylation. Our data show that only weak changes in the DNA methylome distinguish symptomatic from asymptomatic carotid plaques, but a widespread demethylation resulting in permissive transcriptional marks at atheroprotective gene promoters is established in plaques after a cerebrovascular event, thus mirroring previous observations that ruptured plaques tend to revert to a more stable structure. The identified loci are candidate targets to accelerate the pace of carotid plaque stabilization.
Project description:Using single-cell proteomic and transcriptomic analyses, we uncovered distinct features of both T cells and macrophages in carotid artery plaques of patients with clinically symptomatic disease (recent stroke or transient ischemic attack) compared to asymptomatic disease (no recent stroke). Additionally, macrophages from these plaques contained alternatively activated phenotypes, including subsets associated with plaque vulnerability. In plaques from asymptomatic patients, T cells and macrophages were activated and displayed evidence of interleukin-1β signaling. The identification of specific features of innate and adaptive immune cells in plaques that are associated with cerebrovascular events may enable the design of more precisely tailored cardiovascular immunotherapies.
Project description:Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is the etiology of ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction. Ribosome-depleted total RNA was sequenced from carotid plaques obtained from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy with high-grade stenosis and either 1) a carotid-related ischemic cerebrovascular event within the previous 5 days ('recently ruptured,' n=6) or 2) an absence of a cerebrovascular event ('asymptomatic,' n=5). Examination of the differentially expressed genes supported the importance of inflammation and inhibition of proliferation and migration coupled with an increase in apoptosis. Thus, the transcriptome of recently ruptured plaques is enriched with transcripts associated with inflammation and fibrous cap thinning and support further examination of the role of B lymphocytes and interferons in atherosclerotic plaque rupture.
Project description:Gene methylation profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells comparing HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs. hTERT may increase gene methylation in MSCs. Goal was to determine the effects of different transfected genes on global gene methylation in MSCs.
Project description:Gene methylation profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells comparing HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs. hTERT may increase gene methylation in MSCs. Goal was to determine the effects of different transfected genes on global gene methylation in MSCs. Two-condition experiment, KP MSCs vs. 3A6 MSCs.
Project description:A microarray analysis of advanced human atherosclerotic carotid artery plaques (equal or over 70% stenosis, NASCET criteria) from radiologically confirmed ipsilateral stroke patients (stroke-susceptible plaques, n=12) compared with carotid plaques collected from clinically asymptomatic patients with clear brain imaging (asymptomatic plaques, n=9) with equivalent conventional risk factors and severity of carotid stenosis.
Project description:Atherosclerotic plaques belong to the common vascular disease in the aged, which rupture will lead to acute thromboembolic diseases, the major reason for fatal cardiovascular events. Accumulating evidence indicates that lncRNAs exert critical functions in atherosclerosis. To identify novel astherosclerotic plaques-relevant lncRNAs, four specimens of carotid atherosclerotic plaque were collected, and endovascular tissue one centimeter far from the carotid atherosclerotic plaque was taken as a control group, we performed lncRNA microarray analysis using Affymetrix Human OElncRNA