The role of the Wnt / β-catenin pathway and the functioning of the heart in arterial hypertension - A review

Evaluation of the Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway in the Hearts of Hypertensive Rats of Various Etiologies

Wnt/β-catenin signaling dysregulation is associated with the pathogenesis of many human diseases, including hypertension and heart disease. The aim of this study was to immunohistochemically evaluate and compare the expression of the Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin genes in the hearts of rats with spontaneous hypertension (SHRs) and deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt-induced hypertension. The myocardial expression of Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the gene expression was assessed with a real-time PCR method. In SHRs, the immunoreactivity of Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin was attenuated in comparison to that in normotensive animals. In DOCA-salt-induced hypertension, the immunoreactivity of Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin was enhanced. In SHRs, decreases in the expression of the genes encoding Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin were observed compared to the control group. Increased expression of the genes encoding Fzd8, WNT1, GSK-3β, and β-catenin was demonstrated in the hearts of rats with DOCA-salt-induced hypertension. Wnt signaling may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension and the accompanying heart damage. The obtained results may constitute the basis for further research aimed at better understanding the role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the functioning of the heart.

Updates in the management of hypertension

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases and nephropathies. Its treatment and management require long-term follow-up which can be facilitated by the emergence of device-based therapies. Novel recommendations have been well described in the latest ESH guidelines as well as new risk factors have been identified. The authors summarized the published evidence on hypertension management. The authors also cited in this review novel treatment approaches in different settings and the intervention of medication adherence in treatment success. Such non-communicable disease requires long-term follow-up and monitoring, which is quite facilitated in the era of digitalization by cuff-less devices based on prediction tools.

Identification of a gene network driving the attenuated response to lipopolysaccharide of monocytes from hypertensive coronary artery disease patients

Introduction

The impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, encompassing various biological determinants and unhealthy lifestyles, on the functional dynamics of circulating monocytes-a pivotal cell type in CVD pathophysiology remains elusive. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the influence of CVD risk factors on monocyte transcriptional responses to an infectious stimulus.

Methods

We conducted a comparative analysis of monocyte gene expression profiles from the CTMM - CIRCULATING CELLS Cohort of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, at baseline and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Gene co-expression analysis was used to identify gene modules and their correlations with CVD risk factors, while pivotal transcription factors controlling the hub genes in these modules were identified by regulatory network analyses. The identified gene module was subjected to a drug repurposing screen, utilizing the LINCS L1000 database.

Results

Monocyte responsiveness to LPS showed a highly significant, negative correlation with blood pressure levels (ρ< -0.4; P<10-80). We identified a ZNF12/ZBTB43-driven gene module closely linked to diastolic blood pressure, suggesting that monocyte responses to infectious stimuli, such as LPS, are attenuated in CAD patients with elevated diastolic blood pressure. This attenuation appears associated with a dampening of the LPS-induced suppression of oxidative phosphorylation. Finally, we identified the serine-threonine inhibitor MW-STK33-97 as a drug candidate capable of reversing this aberrant LPS response.

Conclusions

Monocyte responses to infectious stimuli may be hampered in CAD patients with high diastolic blood pressure and this attenuated inflammatory response may be reversed by the serine-threonine inhibitor MW-STK33-97. Whether the identified gene module is a mere indicator of, or causal factor in diastolic blood pressure and the associated dampened LPS responses remains to be determined.

Protein-protein interaction network-based integration of GWAS and functional data for blood pressure regulation analysis

BACKGROUND

It is valuable to analyze the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data for a complex disease phenotype in the context of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, as the related pathophysiology results from the function of interacting polyprotein pathways. The analysis may include the design and curation of a phenotype-specific GWAS meta-database incorporating genotypic and eQTL data linking to PPI and other biological datasets, and the development of systematic workflows for PPI network-based data integration toward protein and pathway prioritization. Here, we pursued this analysis for blood pressure (BP) regulation.

METHODS

The relational scheme of the implemented in Microsoft SQL Server BP-GWAS meta-database enabled the combined storage of: GWAS data and attributes mined from GWAS Catalog and the literature, Ensembl-defined SNP-transcript associations, and GTEx eQTL data. The BP-protein interactome was reconstructed from the PICKLE PPI meta-database, extending the GWAS-deduced network with the shortest paths connecting all GWAS-proteins into one component. The shortest-path intermediates were considered as BP-related. For protein prioritization, we combined a new integrated GWAS-based scoring scheme with two network-based criteria: one considering the protein role in the reconstructed by shortest-path (RbSP) interactome and one novel promoting the common neighbors of GWAS-prioritized proteins. Prioritized proteins were ranked by the number of satisfied criteria.

RESULTS

The meta-database includes 6687 variants linked with 1167 BP-associated protein-coding genes. The GWAS-deduced PPI network includes 1065 proteins, with 672 forming a connected component. The RbSP interactome contains 1443 additional, network-deduced proteins and indicated that essentially all BP-GWAS proteins are at most second neighbors. The prioritized BP-protein set was derived from the union of the most BP-significant by any of the GWAS-based or the network-based criteria. It included 335 proteins, with ~ 2/3 deduced from the BP PPI network extension and 126 prioritized by at least two criteria. ESR1 was the only protein satisfying all three criteria, followed in the top-10 by INSR, PTN11, CDK6, CSK, NOS3, SH2B3, ATP2B1, FES and FINC, satisfying two. Pathway analysis of the RbSP interactome revealed numerous bioprocesses, which are indeed functionally supported as BP-associated, extending our understanding about BP regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

The implemented workflow could be used for other multifactorial diseases.

The role of autophagy in cardiovascular disease: Cross-interference of signaling pathways and underlying therapeutic targets

Autophagy is a conserved lysosomal pathway for the degradation of cytoplasmic proteins and organelles, which realizes the metabolic needs of cells and the renewal of organelles. Autophagy-related genes (ATGs) are the main molecular mechanisms controlling autophagy, and their functions can coordinate the whole autophagic process. Autophagy can also play a role in cardiovascular disease through several key signaling pathways, including PI3K/Akt/mTOR, IGF/EGF, AMPK/mTOR, MAPKs, p53, Nrf2/p62, Wnt/β-catenin and NF-κB pathways. In this paper, we reviewed the signaling pathway of cross-interference between autophagy and cardiovascular diseases, and analyzed the development status of novel cardiovascular disease treatment by targeting the core molecular mechanism of autophagy as well as the critical signaling pathway. Induction or inhibition of autophagy through molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways can provide therapeutic benefits for patients. Meanwhile, we hope to provide a unique insight into cardiovascular treatment strategies by understanding the molecular mechanism and signaling pathway of crosstalk between autophagy and cardiovascular diseases.

LncRNA-GAS5 and β-Catenin as Independent Predictors of Asymptomatic Organ Damage in Nondiabetic Hypertensive Patients

Hypertension is a serious medical condition that can increase the risk of developing heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases. Many asymptomatic hypertension patients experience asymptomatic organ damage (AOD). The purpose of this study was to determine the roles of LncRNA-GAS5 and β-catenin in predicting AOD in hypertensive nondiabetic patients. This study included 256 subjects, 128 hypertension patients (75 of whom had AOD, and 53 of whom did not) and 128 healthy controls. qRT-PCR was used to assess LncRNA-GAS5, and ELISA was used to assess β-catenin. The LncRNA-GAS5 expression level was decreased in hypertensive patients compared to controls (p-value < 0.001). On the other hand, β-catenin levels showed higher levels in the patients in comparison with controls (p-value < 0.001). A 0.38-fold change in LncRNA-GAS5 expression predicted AOD with 86.6% sensitivity and 88.7% specificity. β-Catenin > 80.5 pg/mL predicted AOD with a sensitivity of 82.6% and specificity of 69.8%. LncRNA-GAS5 expression was a better diagnostic predictor of AOD than β-catenin. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, decreased LncRNA-GAS5 expression independently increased the risk of AOD (adjusted odds ratio = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01-0.1) (p < 0.001). Furthermore, elevated β-catenin levels may be an independent risk factor for AOD (adjusted odds ratio = 14.3 (95% confidence interval, 3.3-61.9) (p < 0.001). Collectively, in hypertensive patients, LncRNA GAS5 and β-catenin can distinguish patients with AOD from those who do not have AOD. LncRNA GAS5 and β-catenin can be used as independent predictors of AOD in hypertensive patients.