Project description:To understand the mechanism of coronary artery aneurysmal dilatation, we identified and compared the expression of circulating miRNAs in three groups of patients. Group 1 enrolled patients with aneurysmal dilatation of coronary arteries (n = 20), Group 2 included patients with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD), whereas Group 3 included 20 patients with normal coronary arteries. The miRNAs were isolated from plasma and profiled using PCR arrays miRCURY LNA Serum/Plasma Focus PCR Panels. We demonstrated that the plasma miRNAs levels were significantly different in Group 1 in collation with Group 2 and Group 3 (fold change > 2 and p < 0.05). The comparison of Group 1 with Group 3 identified twenty-one significantly up-regulated and two down-regulated miRNAs in patients with aneurysmal coronary artery dilatation compared to the control groups. Moreover, we identified six up-regulated and two down-regulated miRNAs in patients with CAD compared to the controls. The third comparison revealed four up-regulated and three down-regulated miRNAs in Group 1, when compared to CAD patients. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the specific signature of plasma miRNA, namely up-regulated and down-regulated, in patients with abnormal dilatation of coronary arteries and the comparison between the groups consisting of atherosclerotic and control patients.
Project description:Bare-metal (BMS) and drug-eluting stents (DES) were implanted in pig coronary arteries with an overstretch during coronary angioplasty under optical coherence tomography guidance. Arteries subjected to plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) alone served as controls. Stented/balloon dilated segments were harvested 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days post-intervention for proteomics analysis. At day 28 all stented arteries showed a neointima formation covering the stent struts. The evolved neointima was separated from the media and analysed in a separate proteomics analysis. In total, 31 samples were analysed for the media by LC-MS/MS (n=3 BMS/DES at each time-point 1, 3, 7 and 28 days; n=4 POBA early [day1-day3] and n=3 POBA late [day 14 - day28]). For the neointima a total of 14 samples were analysed (n=7 BMS, n=7 DES at 28 days) including the neointima of arteries of a second cohort with 4 samples each for BMS and DES day 28. The neointima samples were run in duplicates.
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:Atherosclerotic plaques tend to form in the major arteries at certain predictable locations. As these arteries vary in atherosusceptibility, inter-arterial differences in endothelial cell (EC) biology are of considerable interest. To explore the origin of differences observed between typical atheroprone and atheroresistant arteries, we used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression profiles of harvested porcine coronary (CECs) and iliac (IECs) artery ECs grown in static culture out to passage four. Fewer differences were observed between the transcriptional profiles of CECs and IECs in culture compared to in vivo, suggesting that most differences observed in vivo were due to distinct environmental cues in the two arteries. One-class significance of microarrays revealed that most in vivo interarterial differences disappeared in culture, as fold differences after passaging were not significant for 85% of genes identified as differentially expressed in vivo at a 5% false discovery rate. However, the three homeobox genes HOXA9, HOXA10, and HOXD3 remained under-expressed in coronary endothelium for all passages by at least 9, 8, and 2-fold, respectively. Continued differential expression despite removal from the in vivo environment suggests that primarily heritable or epigenetic mechanism(s) influence transcription of these three genes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed expression ratios for seven genes associated with atherogenesis and over- or under-expressed by 3-fold in CECs relative to IECs. The present study provides evidence that both local environment and vascular bed origin modulate gene expression in arterial endothelium. The transcriptional differences observed here may provide new insights into pathways responsible for coronary artery susceptibility. Endothelial cells were freshly harvested from right coronary and iliac arteries from four pigs. Cells were cultured out to passage four. RNA was isolated after each passage and expression profiles were obtained using oligo 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:Aneurysm and dissection of the aortic root is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in Loeys-Dietz Syndrome (LDS) and Marfan Syndrome (MFS), where perturbations in TGF β signaling play a causal or contributory role, respectively. Despite the advantages of cross-species disease modeling for mechanistic studies and pre-clinical drug discovery, animal models of aortic root aneurysm are largely restricted to genetically engineered mice. Here, we report that zebrafish larvae, homozygous for null mutations in latent TGF β binding proteins (ltbps) 1 and 3, develop rapid and severe aneurysmal dilatation of the aortic root equivalent, the outflow tract (OFT), after grossly unperturbed cardiac morphogenesis. The ventricle also becomes significantly dilated and upregulates stress-responsive genes, which likely reflects compensatory pathologic remodeling since ltbp1 and ltbp3 co-expression is restricted to the OFT. Similar to aneurysm tissue from LDS and MFS patients, the distended OFTs display evidence for hyperactivated TGF β signaling. Moreover, RNA-sequencing revealed significant overlap between the molecular signatures of diseased tissue from double knockout zebrafish and MFS mice. Lastly, chemical inhibition of the TGF β Type I receptor in wild-type embryos evoked similar OFT and ventricular dilation phenotypes, demonstrating that TGF β signaling is protective against these pathologies. The disease relevance of the mutant phenotype is further supported by recent family studies implicating genetic lesions in Ltbp3, and likely Ltbp1, as heritable causes of aortic root aneurysm. Ultimately, our data demonstrate that the unique advantages of zebrafish can now be leveraged to interrogate thoracic aneurysmal disease and identify novel lead compounds through small molecule suppressor screens.
Project description:Atherosclerotic plaques tend to form in the major arteries at certain predictable locations. As these arteries vary in atherosusceptibility, inter-arterial differences in endothelial cell (EC) biology are of considerable interest. To explore the origin of differences observed between typical atheroprone and atheroresistant arteries, we used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression profiles of harvested porcine coronary (CECs) and iliac (IECs) artery ECs grown in static culture out to passage four. Fewer differences were observed between the transcriptional profiles of CECs and IECs in culture compared to in vivo, suggesting that most differences observed in vivo were due to distinct environmental cues in the two arteries. One-class significance of microarrays revealed that most in vivo interarterial differences disappeared in culture, as fold differences after passaging were not significant for 85% of genes identified as differentially expressed in vivo at a 5% false discovery rate. However, the three homeobox genes HOXA9, HOXA10, and HOXD3 remained under-expressed in coronary endothelium for all passages by at least 9, 8, and 2-fold, respectively. Continued differential expression despite removal from the in vivo environment suggests that primarily heritable or epigenetic mechanism(s) influence transcription of these three genes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed expression ratios for seven genes associated with atherogenesis and over- or under-expressed by 3-fold in CECs relative to IECs. The present study provides evidence that both local environment and vascular bed origin modulate gene expression in arterial endothelium. The transcriptional differences observed here may provide new insights into pathways responsible for coronary artery susceptibility.