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Li T, Yu B, Liu Z, Li J, Ma M, Wang Y, Zhu M, Yin H, Wang X, Fu Y, Yu F, Wang X, Fang X, Sun J, Kong W. Homocysteine directly interacts and activates the angiotensin II type I receptor to aggravate vascular injury. Nat Commun 2018; 9:11. [PMID: 29296021 PMCID: PMC5750214 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02401-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is a risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism underlying HHcy-aggravated vascular injury remains unclear. Here we show that the aggravation of abdominal aortic aneurysm by HHcy is abolished in mice with genetic deletion of the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor and in mice treated with an AT1 blocker. We find that homocysteine directly activates AT1 receptor signalling. Homocysteine displaces angiotensin II and limits its binding to AT1 receptor. Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer analysis reveals distinct conformational changes of AT1 receptor upon binding to angiotensin II and homocysteine. Molecular dynamics and site-directed mutagenesis experiments suggest that homocysteine regulates the conformation of the AT1 receptor both orthosterically and allosterically by forming a salt bridge and a disulfide bond with its Arg167 and Cys289 residues, respectively. Together, these findings suggest that strategies aimed at blocking the AT1 receptor may mitigate HHcy-associated aneurysmal vascular injuries. High homocysteine plasma levels are associated with cardiovascular diseases. Here, Li and colleagues find that homocysteine aggravates vascular injury by direct binding to the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), identifying AT1R inhibition as a potential strategy to counteract the deleterious vascular effects of hyperhomocysteinemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuoyi Li
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China.,Capital Normal University High School, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Bing Yu
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhixin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Shandong University; Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Jingyuan Li
- CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Institute of High Energy Physics, 19 B, Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Mingliang Ma
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Shandong University; Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China
| | - Yingbao Wang
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Mingjiang Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Food Safety Research, Institute for Nutritional Sciences (INS), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Huiyong Yin
- Key Laboratory of Food Safety Research, Institute for Nutritional Sciences (INS), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xiaofeng Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Institute of High Energy Physics, 19 B, Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yi Fu
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Fang Yu
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xian Wang
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xiaohong Fang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jinpeng Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Shandong University; Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China. .,School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
| | - Wei Kong
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China.
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Abstract
Angiotensin II (AII), an octapeptide member of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), is formed by the enzyme angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and exerts adverse cellular effects through an interaction with its type 1 receptor (AT1R). Both ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) mitigate the vasoconstrictive, proliferative, proinflammatory, proapoptotic, and profibrotic effects of AII and are widely used as effective anti-remodeling agents in clinical practice. Prediction of individual response to these agents, however, remains problematic and is influenced by many factors including race, gender, and genotype. In addition, systemic and tissue RAS activity do not correlate closely. This report summarizes the results of on-going attempts to noninvasively determine tissue ACE activity and AT1R expression using novel nuclear tracers. It is hoped that the availability of such imaging techniques improve treatment of heart failure through more selective pharmacologic intervention and better dose titration of available drugs.
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