scholarly journals Endocardium-to-coronary artery differentiation during heart development and regeneration involves sequential roles of Bmp2 and Cxcl12/Cxcr4.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaetano D'Amato ◽  
Ragini Phansalkar ◽  
Jeffrey A. Naftaly ◽  
Pamela E Coronado Rios ◽  
Dale O. Cowley ◽  
...  

Regenerating coronary blood vessels has the potential to ameliorate ischemic heart disease, yet there is currently no method of stimulating clinically effective cardiac angiogenesisis. Endocardial cells, a particularly plastic cell type during development, line the heart lumen and are natural coronary vessel progenitors. Their intrinsic angiogenic potential is lost in adults, but studying the endocardial-to-coronary developmental pathway could identify methods of re-instating this process in diseased hearts. Here, we use a combination of mouse genetics and scRNAseq of lineage-traced endothelial cells to identify novel regulators of endocardial angiogenesis and precisely assess the role of Cxcl12/Cxcr4 signaling. Time-specific lineage tracing demonstrated that endocardial cells differentiated earlier than previously thought, largely at mid-gestation. A new mouse line reporting the activity of Cxcr4 revealed that, despite widespread Cxcl12 and Cxcr4 expression, only a small subset of these coronary endothelial cells activated the receptor, which were mostly in arteries. In accordance with these two findings, Cxcr4 deletion in the endocardial lineage only affected artery formation and only when deleted before mid-gestation. Integrating scRNAseq data of coronary endothelial cells from the endocardial lineage at both mid- and late-gestation identified a transitioning population that was specific to the earlier timepoint that specifically expressed Bmp2. Recombinant Bmp2 stimulated endocardial angiogenesis in an in vitro explant assay and in neonatal mouse hearts upon myocardial infarction. Our data shed light on how understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying endocardial-to-coronary transitions can identify new potential therapeutic targets that could promote revascularization of the injured heart.

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ha-Rim Seo ◽  
Hyo Eun Jeong ◽  
Hyung Joon Joo ◽  
Seung-Cheol Choi ◽  
Jong-Ho Kim ◽  
...  

Background: Human body contains many kinds of different type of endothelial cells (EC). However, cellular difference of their angiogenic potential has been hardly understood. We compared in vitro angiogenic potential between arterial EC and venous EC and investigated its underlying molecular mechanisms. Method: Used human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) which was indicated from arterial EC and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) indicated from venous EC. To explore angiogenic potential in detail, we adopted a novel 3D microfluidic angiogenesis assay system, which closely mimic in vivo angiogenesis. Results: In 3D microfluidic angiogenesis assay system, HAEC demonstrated stronger angiogenic potential compared to HUVEC. HAEC maintained its profound angiogenic property under different biophysical conditions. In mRNA microarray sorted on up- regulated or down-regulated genes, HAEC demonstrated significantly higher expression of gastrulation brain homeobox 2 (GBX2), fibroblast grow factor 2 (FGF2), FGF5 and collagen 8a1. Angiogenesis-related protein assay revealed that HAEC has higher secretion of endogenous FGF2 than HUVEC. HAEC has only up-regulated FGF2 and FGF5 in this part of FGF family. Furthermore, FGF5 expression under vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) stimulation was higher in HAEC compared to HUVEC although VEGF-A augmented FGF5 expression in both HAEC and HUVEC. Those data suggested that FGF5 expression in both HAEC and HUVEC is partially dependent to VEGF-A stimulate. HUVEC and HAEC reduced vascular density after FGF2 and FGF5 siRNA treat. Conclusion: HAEC has stronger angiogenic potential than HUVEC through up-regulation of endogenous FGF2 and FGF5 expression


Author(s):  
Liping Su ◽  
Xiaocen Kong ◽  
Sze Jie Loo ◽  
Yu Gao ◽  
Jean-Paul Kovalik ◽  
...  

Induced pluripotent stem cells derived cells (iPSCs) not only can be used for personalized cell transfer therapy, but also can be used for modeling diseases for drug screening and discovery in vitro. Although prior studies have characterized the function of rodent iPSCs derived endothelial cells (ECs) in diabetes or metabolic syndrome, feature phenotypes are largely unknown in hiPSC-ECs from patients with diabetes. Here, we used hiPSC lines from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and differentiated them into ECs (dia-hiPSC-ECs). We found that dia-hiPSC-ECs had disrupted glycine homeostasis, increased senescence, and impaired mitochondrial function and angiogenic potential as compared with healthy hiPSC-ECs. These signature phenotypes will be helpful to establish dia-hiPSC-ECs as models of endothelial dysfunction for understanding molecular mechanisms of disease and for identifying and testing new targets for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction in diabetes.


Author(s):  
Susan Gallogly ◽  
Takeshi Fujisawa ◽  
John D. Hung ◽  
Mairi Brittan ◽  
Elizabeth M. Skinner ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Endothelial dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome. The study of diseased endothelium is very challenging due to inherent difficulties in isolating endothelial cells from the coronary vascular bed. We sought to isolate and characterise coronary endothelial cells from patients undergoing thrombectomy for myocardial infarction to develop a patient-specific in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 49 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with thrombus aspiration. Specimens were cultured, and coronary endothelial outgrowth (CEO) cells were isolated. CEO cells, endothelial cells isolated from peripheral blood, explanted coronary arteries, and umbilical veins were phenotyped and assessed functionally in vitro and in vivo. Results CEO cells were obtained from 27/37 (73%) atherothrombotic specimens and gave rise to cells with cobblestone morphology expressing CD146 (94 ± 6%), CD31 (87 ± 14%), and von Willebrand factor (100 ± 1%). Proliferation of CEO cells was impaired compared to both coronary artery and umbilical vein endothelial cells (population doubling time, 2.5 ± 1.0 versus 1.6 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.3 days, respectively). Cell migration was also reduced compared to umbilical vein endothelial cells (29 ± 20% versus 85±19%). Importantly, unlike control endothelial cells, dysfunctional CEO cells did not incorporate into new vessels or promote angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusions CEO cells can be reliably isolated and cultured from thrombectomy specimens in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Compared to controls, patient-derived coronary endothelial cells had impaired capacity to proliferate, migrate, and contribute to angiogenesis. CEO cells could be used to identify novel therapeutic targets to enhance endothelial function and prevent acute coronary syndromes.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (9) ◽  
pp. 3465-3473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane C. McAllister ◽  
Scott G. Hansen ◽  
Rebecca A. Ruhl ◽  
Camilo M. Raggo ◽  
Victor R. DeFilippis ◽  
...  

Abstract Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is the most common AIDS-associated malignancy and is characterized by angiogenesis and the presence of spindle cells. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is consistently associated with all clinical forms of KS, and in vitro infection of dermal microvascular endothelial cells (DMVECs) with KSHV recapitulates many of the features of KS, including transformation, spindle cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. To study the molecular mechanisms of KSHV pathogenesis, we compared the protein expression profiles of KSHV-infected and uninfected DMVECs. This comparison revealed that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the inducible enzyme responsible for the rate-limiting step in heme catabolism, was up-regulated in infected endothelial cells. Recent evidence suggests that the products of heme catabolism have important roles in endothelial cell biology, including apoptosis and angiogenesis. Here we show that HO-1 mRNA and protein are up-regulated in KSHV-infected cultures. Comparison of oral and cutaneous AIDS-KS tissues with normal tissues revealed that HO-1 mRNA and protein were also up-regulated in vivo. Increased HO-1 enzymatic activity in vitro enhanced proliferation of KSHV-infected DMVECs in the presence of free heme. Treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor chromium mesoporphyrin IX abolished heme-induced proliferation. These data suggest that HO-1 is a potential therapeutic target for KS that warrants further study. (Blood. 2004;103: 3465-3473)


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiulian Zhou ◽  
Dongchao Lv ◽  
Qi Sun ◽  
Ping Chen ◽  
Yihua Bei ◽  
...  

Myocardial infarction (MI) is among major causes of morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery disease. Angiogenesis improves tissue perfusion and cardiac repair after MI. Therefore, angiogenesis is considered to be a novel therapeutic way for ischemic heart diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) have been reported to play important roles in regulating post-ischemic neovascularization. The current study aims at investigating the role of miR-4261 in angiogenesis. We found that miR-4261 mimics increased, while miR-4261 inhibitors decreased the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) using EdU incorporation assay (17.25%±1.31% vs 30.91%±0.92% in nc-mimics vs mir-4261-mimics, 17.91%±1.36% vs 8.51%±0.82% in nc-inhibitor vs mir-4261-inhibitor, respectively) and CCK-8 assays (0.84±0.04 vs 1.38±0.04 in nc-mimics vs mir-4261-mimics, 0.80±0.02 vs 0.72±0.01 in nc-inhibitor vs mir-4261-inhibitor, respectively). The wound healing assay showed that miR-4261 mimic transfection resulted in a significant increase in the migration of HUVEC compared to that of the negative controls while miR-4261 inhibition had the opposite effects. Tube formation assays showed that HUVEC transfected with miR-4261 mimics increased the number of tubes formed (57.25±2.56 vs 81.5±2.53 in nc-mimics vs mir-4261-mimics, respectively), while miR-4261 inhibitor-transfected cells had the opposite effect (56.55±0.45 vs 41.38±0.52 in nc-inhibitor vs mir-4261-inhibitor, respectively). These results indicate that miR-4261 play an important role in regulating angiogenesis. However, it remains unknown which target gene mediated the effects of miR-4261. Thus, it will be of great interest to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of miR-4261 in the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of HUVEC in vitro. MiR-4261 could be a potential therapeutic target to enhance angiogenesis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (32) ◽  
pp. 19578-19589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Ming Lee ◽  
Liqiang Zhou ◽  
Jiping Liu ◽  
Jiayu Shi ◽  
Yanan Geng ◽  
...  

The CreER/LoxP system is widely accepted to track neural lineages and study gene functions upon tamoxifen (TAM) administration. We have observed that prenatal TAM treatment caused high rates of delayed delivery and fetal mortality. This substance could produce undesired results, leading to data misinterpretation. Here, we report that administration of TAM during early stages of cortical neurogenesis promoted precocious neural differentiation, while it inhibited neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation. The TAM-induced inhibition of NPC proliferation led to deficits in cortical neurogenesis, dendritic morphogenesis, synaptic formation, and cortical patterning in neonatal and postnatal offspring. Mechanistically, by employing single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis combined with in vivo and in vitro assays, we show TAM could exert these drastic effects mainly through dysregulating the Wnt-Dmrta2 signaling pathway. In adult mice, administration of TAM significantly attenuated NPC proliferation in both the subventricular zone and the dentate gyrus. This study revealed the cellular and molecular mechanisms for the adverse effects of TAM on corticogenesis, suggesting that care must be taken when using the TAM-induced CreER/LoxP system for neural lineage tracing and genetic manipulation studies in both embryonic and adult brains.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 520-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Ding ◽  
Lanlan Shan ◽  
Wenqing Nai ◽  
Xiaojun Lin ◽  
Ling Zhou ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is essential for angiogenesis and embryonic development. DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) is an mTOR binding protein that functions to inhibit the mTOR pathway In vitro experiments suggest that DEPTOR is crucial for vascular endothelial cell (EC) activation and angiogenic responses. However, knowledge of the effects of DEPTOR on angiogenesis in vivo is limited. This study aimed to determine the role of DEPTOR in tissue angiogenesis and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms. Methods: Cre/loxP conditional gene knockout strategy was used to delete the Deptor gene in mouse vascular ECs. The expression or distribution of cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) were detected by immunohistochemical staining or western blot. Tube formation assay was used to measure angiogenesis in vitro. Results: Deptor knockdown led to increased expression of CD31, VEGF and HIF-1α in heart, liver, kidney and aorta. After treatment with rapamycin, their expression was significantly down regulated. In vitro, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were transfected with DEPTOR-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA), which resulted in a significant increase in endothelial tube formation and migration rates. In contrast, DEPTOR overexpression markedly reduced the expression of CD31, VEGF and HIF-1α. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that deletion of the Deptor gene in vascular ECs resulted in upregulated expression of CD31 and HIF-1α, and further stimulated the expression of VEGF which promoted angiogenesis, indicating that disruption of normal angiogenic pathways may occur through hyperactivation of the mTORC1/HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway.


Author(s):  
Boryeong Pak ◽  
Christopher E. Schmitt ◽  
Woosoung Choi ◽  
Jun-Dae Kim ◽  
Orjin Han ◽  
...  

Endothelial cells appear to emerge from diverse progenitors. However, to which extent their developmental origin contributes to define their cellular and molecular characteristics remains largely unknown. Here, we report that a subset of endothelial cells that emerge from the tailbud possess unique molecular characteristics that set them apart from stereotypical lateral plate mesoderm (LPM)-derived endothelial cells. Lineage tracing shows that these tailbud-derived endothelial cells arise at mid-somitogenesis stages, and surprisingly do not require Npas4l or Etsrp function, indicating that they have distinct spatiotemporal origins and are regulated by distinct molecular mechanisms. Microarray and single cell RNA-seq analyses reveal that somitogenesis- and neurogenesis-associated transcripts are over-represented in these tailbud-derived endothelial cells, suggesting that they possess a unique transcriptomic signature. Taken together, our results further reveal the diversity of endothelial cells with respect to their developmental origin and molecular properties, and provide compelling evidence that the molecular characteristics of endothelial cells may reflect their distinct developmental history.


Author(s):  
João P. Monteiro ◽  
Julie Rodor ◽  
Axelle Caudrillier ◽  
Jessica P Scanlon ◽  
Ana-Mishel Spiroski ◽  
...  

Rationale: Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a dynamic biological process involved in pathological vascular remodelling. However, the molecular mechanisms that govern this transition remain largely unknown, including the contribution of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Objective: To investigate the role of lncRNAs in EndMT and their relevance to vascular remodelling. Methods and Results: To study EndMT in vitro, primary endothelial cells (EC) were treated with transforming growth factor-β2 and interleukin-1β. Single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing were performed to investigate the transcriptional architecture of EndMT and identify regulated lncRNAs. The functional contribution of seven lncRNAs during EndMT was investigated based on a DsiRNA screening assay. The loss of lncRNA MIR503HG was identified as a common signature across multiple human EC types undergoing EndMT in vitro. MIR503HG depletion induced a spontaneous EndMT phenotype, while its overexpression repressed hallmark EndMT changes, regulating 29% of its transcriptome signature. Importantly, the phenotypic changes induced by MIR503HG were independent of miR-424 and miR-503, which overlap the lncRNA locus. The pathological relevance of MIR503HG down-regulation was confirmed in vivo using Sugen/Hypoxia (SuHx)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) in mouse, as well as in human clinical samples, in lung sections and blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. Overexpression of human MIR503HG in SuHx mice led to reduced mesenchymal marker expression, suggesting MIR503HG therapeutic potential. We also revealed that MIR503HG interacts with the Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein 1 (PTB1) and regulates its protein level. PTBP1 regulation of EndMT markers suggests that the role of MIR503HG in EndMT might be mediated in part by PTBP1. Conclusions: This study reports a novel lncRNA transcriptional profile associated with EndMT and reveals the crucial role of the loss of MIR503HG in EndMT and its relevance to pulmonary hypertension.


Author(s):  
LeShana SaintJean ◽  
H.S. Baldwin

The endocardium represents a distinct population of endothelial cells that arises during the initiation of heart development. Endocardial cells can easily be distinguished from most of the other cardiac cell types. However, endocardial and vascular endothelial cells contain a similar genetic profile that limits the ability to study each group independently. Despite these limitations, tremendous progress has been made in identifying the different roles of endocardial cells throughout heart development. Initial studies focused on the origin of endocardial cells and their role in valvulogenesis, trabeculation, and formation of the ventricular and atrial septum. With the advancement of microscopy and the availability of endocardial specific reporter models (in vitro and in vivo) we have obtained more insight into the molecular, structural, and functional complexity of the endocardium. Additional studies have demonstrated how the endocardium is also involved in the development of coronary vessels within the compact myocardium and in heart regeneration.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document