scholarly journals Extracellular Matrix Protein Ratios in the Human Heart and Vessels: How to Distinguish Pathological From Physiological Changes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Wittig ◽  
Robert Szulcek

Cardiovascular pathology is often accompanied by changes in relative content and/or ratios of structural extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins within the heart and elastic vessels. Three of these proteins, collagen-I, collagen-III, and elastin, make up the bulk of the ECM proteins in these tissues, forming a microenvironment that strongly dictates the tissue biomechanical properties and effectiveness of cardiac and vascular function. In this review, we aim to elucidate how the ratios of collagen-I to collagen-III and elastin to collagen are altered in cardiovascular diseases and the aged individuum. We elaborate on these major cardiovascular ECM proteins in terms of structure, tissue localization, turnover, and physiological function and address how their ratios change in aging, dilated cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, aortic aneurysms, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. To the end of guiding in vitro modeling approaches, we focus our review on the human heart and aorta, discuss limitations in ECM protein quantification methodology, examine comparability between studies, and highlight potential in vitro applications. In summary, we found collagen-I relative concentration to increase or stay the same in cardiovascular disease, resulting in a tendency for increased collagen-I/collagen-III and decreased elastin/collagen ratios. These ratios were found to fall on a continuous scale with ranges defining distinct pathological states as well as a significant difference between the human heart and aortic ECM protein ratios.

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Houcine Dab ◽  
Kamel Kacem ◽  
Rafik Hachani ◽  
Nadra Dhaouadi ◽  
Wassim Hodroj ◽  
...  

The interactions between the effects of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and angiotensin II (ANG II) on vascular extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis were determined in rats. The mRNA and protein content of collagen I, collagen III and elastin in the abdominal aorta (AA) and femoral artery (FA) was investigated in Wistar–Kyoto rats treated for 5 weeks with guanethidine, a sympathoplegic, losartan, an ANG II AT1 receptor (AT1R) blocker, or both. The effects of noradrenaline (NE) and ANG II on collagen III and elastin mRNA, and the receptor involved, were tested in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vitro. Guanethidine increased collagen types I and III and decreased elastin, while losartan had an opposite effect, although without effect on collagen III. The combination of treatments abrogated changes induced by simple treatment with collagen I and elastin, but increased collagen III mRNA in AA and not in FA. NE stimulated collagen III mRNA via β receptors and elastin via α1 and α2 receptors. ANG II stimulated collagen III but inhibited elastin mRNA via AT1R. Overall, SNS and ANG II exert opposite and antagonistic effects on major components of ECM in the vascular wall. This may be of relevance for the choice of a therapeutic strategy in vascular diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5194
Author(s):  
Paola Pontrelli ◽  
Francesca Conserva ◽  
Rossella Menghini ◽  
Michele Rossini ◽  
Alessandra Stasi ◽  
...  

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease. Tubulointerstitial accumulation of lysine 63 (K63)-ubiquitinated (Ub) proteins is involved in the progression of DN fibrosis and correlates with urinary miR-27b-3p downregulation. We explored the renoprotective effect of an inhibitor of K63-Ub (NSC697923), alone or in combination with the ACE-inhibitor ramipril, in vitro and in vivo. Proximal tubular epithelial cells and diabetic DBA/2J mice were treated with NSC697923 and/or ramipril. K63-Ub protein accumulation along with α-SMA, collagen I and III, FSP-1, vimentin, p16INK4A expression, SA-α Gal staining, Sirius Red, and PAS staining were measured. Finally, we measured the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR), and urinary miR-27b-3p expression in mice. NSC697923, both alone and in association with ramipril, in vitro and in vivo inhibited hyperglycemia-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition by significantly reducing K63-Ub proteins, α-SMA, collagen I, vimentin, FSP-1 expression, and collagen III along with tubulointerstitial and glomerular fibrosis. Treated mice also showed recovery of urinary miR-27b-3p and restored expression of p16INK4A. Moreover, NSC697923 in combination with ramipril demonstrated a trend in the reduction of uACR. In conclusion, we suggest that selective inhibition of K63-Ub, when combined with the conventional treatment with ACE inhibitors, might represent a novel treatment strategy to prevent the progression of fibrosis and proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy and we propose miR-27b-3p as a biomarker of treatment efficacy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogério De Oliveira Gonçalves ◽  
Evandro De Moraes e Silva ◽  
Gaspar De Jesus Lopes Filho

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the role of fibrillar extracellular matrix components in the pathogenesis of inguinal hernias. METHODS: samples of the transverse fascia and of the anterior sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle were collected from 40 men aged between 20 and 60 years with type II and IIIA Nyhus inguinal hernia and from 10 fresh male cadavers (controls) without hernia in the same age range. The staining technique was immunohistochemistry for collagen I, collagen III and elastic fibers; quantification of fibrillar components was performed with an image analysis processing software. RESULTS: no statistically significant differences were found in the amount of elastic fibers, collagen I and collagen III, and the ratio of collagen I / III among patients with inguinal hernia when compared with subjects without hernia. CONCLUSION: the amount of fibrillar extracellular matrix components did not change in patients with and without inguinal hernia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Przyklenk ◽  
Veronika Georgieva ◽  
Fabian Metzen ◽  
Sebastian Mostert ◽  
Birgit Kobbe ◽  
...  

LTBP1 is a large extracellular matrix protein and an associated ligand of fibrillin-microfibrils. Knowledge of LTBP1 functions is largely limited to its role in targeting and sequestering TGFβ growth factors within the extracellular matrix, thereby regulating their bioavailability. However, the recent description of a wide spectrum of phenotypes in multiple tissues in patients harboring LTBP1 pathogenic variants suggests a multifaceted role of the protein in the homeostasis of connective tissues. To better understand the human pathology caused by LTBP1 deficiency it is important to investigate its functional role in extracellular matrix formation. In this study, we show that LTBP1 coordinates the incorporation of fibrillin-1 and -2 into the extracellular matrix in vitro. We also demonstrate that this function is differentially exerted by the two isoforms, the short and long forms of LTBP1. Thereby our findings uncover a novel TGFβ-independent LTBP1 function potentially contributing to the development of connective tissue disorders.


Development ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 103 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 195-205
Author(s):  
J. B. L. Bard ◽  
M. K. Bansal ◽  
A. S. A. Ross

This paper examines the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the development of the cornea. After a brief summary of the corneal structure and ECM, we describe evidence suggesting that the differentiation of neural crest (NC) cells into endothelium and fibroblasts is under the control of ocular ECM. We then examine the role of collagen I in stromal morphogenesis by comparing normal corneas with those of homozygous Movl3 mice which do not make collagen I. We report that, in spite of this absence, the cellular morphology of the Movl3 eye is indistinguishable from that of the wild type. In the 16-day mutant stroma, however, the remaining collagens form small amounts of disorganized, thin fibrils rather than orthogonally organized 20 nm-diameter fibrils; a result implying that collagen I plays only a structural role and that its absence is not compensated for. It also suggests that, because these remaining collagens will not form the normal fibrils that they will in vitro, fibrillogenesis in the corneal stroma differs from that elsewhere. The latter part of the paper describes our current work on chick stromal deposition using corneal epithelia isolated with an intact basal lamina that lay down in vitro ∼3μm-thick stromas of organized fibrils similar to that seen in vivo. This experimental system has yielded two unexpected results. First, the amount of collagen and proteoglycans produced by such epithelia is not dependent on whether its substratum is collagenous and we therefore conclude that stromal production by the intact epithelium is more autonomous than hitherto thought. Second, chondroitin sulphate (CS), the predominant proteoglycan, appears to play no role in stromal morphogenesis: epithelia cultured in testicular hyaluronidase, which degrades CS, lay down stromas whose organization and fibrildiameter distribution are indistinguishable from controls. One possible role for CS, however, is as a lubricant which facilitates corneal growth: it could allow fibrils to move over one another without deforming their orthogonal organization. Finally, we have examined the processes of fibrillogenesis in the corneal stroma and conclude that they are different from those elsewhere in the embryo and in vitro, perhaps because there is in the primary stroma an unidentified, highly hydrated ECM macromolecule that embeds the fibrils and that may mediate their morphogenesis.


Kardiologiia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
K. V. Dergilev ◽  
Z. I. Tsokolaeva ◽  
Yu. D. Vasilets ◽  
I. B. Beloglazova ◽  
B. N. Kulbitsky ◽  
...  

Aim      To study the effect of hypoxia on the activity of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in epicardial cells, which provides formation of a specialized microenvironment.Material and methods   This study used a model of experimental myocardial infarction created by ligation of the anterior descendent coronary artery. The activity of epicardial cells after a hypoxic exposure was studied with the hypoxia marker, pimonidazole, bromodeoxyuridine, immunofluorescent staining of heart cryosections, and in vitro mesothelial cell culture.Results The undamaged heart maintained the quiescent condition of mesothelial cells and low levels of their proliferation, extracellular matrix protein production, and of the EMT activity. Acute ischemic injury induced moderate hypoxia in the epicardial/subepicardial region. This caused a global rearrangement of this region due to the initiation of EMT in cells, changes in the cell composition, and accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. We found that the initiation of EMT in mesothelial cells may result in the formation of smooth muscle cell precursors, fibroblasts, and a population of Sca-1+ cardiac progenitor cells, which may both participate in construction of new blood vessels and serve as a mesenchymal link for the paracrine support of microenvironmental cells. In in vitro experiments, we showed that 72‑h hypoxia facilitated activation of EMT regulatory genes, induced dissembling of intercellular contacts, cell uncoupling, and increased cell plasticity.Conclusion      The epicardium of an adult heart serves as a “reparative reserve” that can be reactivated by a hypoxic exposure. This creates a basis for an approach to influence the epicardium to modulate its activity for regulating reparative processes.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda L Trout ◽  
Zuohui Zhang ◽  
Jill Roberts ◽  
Gillian Grohs ◽  
Ela Patel ◽  
...  

Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), the second leading cause of dementia behind Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is a broad term that encompasses a spectrum of initial asymptomatic cerebrovascular changes (seen in small vessel disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy where pathologic Aβ1-42 protein accumulates around brain blood vessels) to the profound symptomatic damage following acute stroke(s). Cerebrovascular remodeling and new blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) may represent early compensatory changes to reduced cerebral blood flow that can initiate VCID. Angiogenesis, in turn, is supported by various growth factors and the proteolytic turnover of surrounding extracellular matrix. We have demonstrated that one such extracellular matrix protein, perlecan (a heparan sulfate proteoglycan), possesses a C terminal domain V (DV) protein that upon cleavage greatly enhances brain angiogenesis. We characterized VCID induced changes in DV expression in the human parietal cortex and a distinct mouse model (diabetic APP/PS1 knock in (db/AD)), that has a gradual cognitive decline by 9 months with microangiopathy, Aβ1-42 deposition, aneurysms, and microhemorrhages. We also utilized an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to assess the transport of human Aβ1-42 in the presence of DV. In the human parietal cortex, dementia patients had increased expression of DV despite having fewer cells. In db/AD animals (3-6 months), we observed a decrease in BBB proteins (i.e. claudin-5), indicating that altered function correlated with an increase in brain DV expression during the asymptomatic angiogenic stage, which precedes cognitive changes (9-12 months). In vitro, DV doubled the transport of Aβ1-42 into the lumen of cerebral microvessels over 24 hours with increased activity and total protein expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), one of Aβ’s known transport proteins. Collectively, these data indicate that early cerebrovascular changes induce angiogenic-remodeling that correlates with increased expression of DV. DV, in turn, may further enhance angiogenesis and increase brain Aβ clearance into the vascular compartment through P-gp, suggesting that DV could represent a novel therapeutic for VCID.


2020 ◽  
Vol 245 (11) ◽  
pp. 983-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Liu ◽  
Yuan Feng ◽  
Cheng Sun ◽  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Qing-Yan Zhang ◽  
...  

Our previous study demonstrated that the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway is activated in peritoneal fibrosis under high glucose condition. This study aimed to investigate whether valsartan inhibits high glucose-induced peritoneal fibrosis via decreasing the activity of the mTORC1 pathway. We used high glucose peritoneal dialysis solution in a mouse peritoneal dialysis model to induce peritoneal fibrosis in vivo and high glucose in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) to stimulate extracellular matrix accumulation in vitro. After injections of peritoneal dialysis solution containing 4.25% glucose for four weeks, mice showed typical features of peritoneal fibrosis, including markedly increased peritoneal thickness, excessive matrix deposition, increased peritoneal permeability, and higher expression of extracellular matrix proteins, such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen I. Oral gavage of valsartan significantly ameliorated these pathological changes at both week 6 and week 8. These effects of valsartan were closely correlated with a decrease in the activation of the mTORC1 signal, which was mediated by the downregulation of the protein expression of phosphorylated (p)-mTOR, p-eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1, and p-p70 S6 kinase 1. Further research showed that the protein expression of mTORC1 signal was positively correlated with the expression of both α-SMA and collagen I in the peritoneum. In vitro, high glucose increased the protein expression of α-SMA and collagen I in a dose-dependent manner, while valsartan significantly inhibited high glucose-induced extracellular matrix accumulation in HPMCs. The effect was also accompanied by a decrease in the activation of the mTORC1 signal. Furthermore, the mTOR agonist MHY1485 reversed the downregulation of extracellular matrix components in HPMCs, even in the presence of valsartan. We conclude that valsartan exerts a protective effect against high glucose-induced peritoneal fibrosis via suppressing the activity of the mTORC1 pathway. Impact statement Our study provided new insight into the mechanism underlying the preservation of the peritoneum by valsartan. The results demonstrated that the mice receiving chronic high glucose (HG) peritoneal dialysis solution infusion showed a typical feature of peritoneal fibrosis (PF), as well as higher expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen I. In vitro, HG increased the protein expression of α-SMA and collagen I in a dose-dependent manner, while valsartan significantly ameliorated these pathological changes. Interestingly, there was a parallel decrease in the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and the protein expression levels of α-SMA and collagen I upon treatment with valsartan in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the mTOR agonist MHY1485 reversed the downregulation of α-SMA and collagen I in vitro, even in the presence of valsartan. Altogether, our findings reported for the first time that valsartan exerts a protective effect against HG-induced PF by inhibiting the activity of the mTORC1 pathway.


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