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Kawai K, Sakamoto A, Mokry M, Ghosh SKB, Kawakami R, Xu W, Guo L, Fuller DT, Tanaka T, Shah P, Cornelissen A, Sato Y, Mori M, Konishi T, Vozenilek AE, Dhingra R, Virmani R, Pasterkamp G, Finn AV. Clonal Proliferation Within Smooth Muscle Cells in Unstable Human Atherosclerotic Lesions. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2023; 43:2333-2347. [PMID: 37881937 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.123.319479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies in humans and mice using the expression of an X-linked gene or lineage tracing, respectively, have suggested that clones of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) exist in human atherosclerotic lesions but are limited by either spatial resolution or translatability of the model. METHODS Phenotypic clonality can be detected by X-chromosome inactivation patterns. We investigated whether clones of SMCs exist in unstable human atheroma using RNA in situ hybridization (BaseScope) to identify a naturally occurring 24-nucleotide deletion in the 3'UTR of the X-linked BGN (biglycan) gene, a proteoglycan highly expressed by SMCs. BGN-specific BaseScope probes were designed to target the wild-type or deletion mRNA. Three different coronary artery plaque types (erosion, rupture, and adaptive intimal thickening) were selected from heterozygous females for the deletion BGN. Hybridization of target RNA-specific probes was used to visualize the spatial distribution of mutants. A clonality index was calculated from the percentage of each probe in each region of interest. Spatial transcriptomics were used to identify differentially expressed transcripts within clonal and nonclonal regions. RESULTS Less than one-half of regions of interest in the intimal plaque were considered clonal with the mean percent regions of interest with clonality higher in the intimal plaque than in the media. This was consistent for all plaque types. The relationship of the dominant clone in the intimal plaque and media showed significant concordance. In comparison with the nonclonal lesions, the regions with SMC clonality had lower expression of genes encoding cell growth suppressors such as CD74, SERF-2 (small EDRK-rich factor 2), CTSB (cathepsin B), and HLA-DPA1 (major histocompatibility complex, class II, DP alpha 1), among others. CONCLUSIONS Our novel approach to examine clonality suggests atherosclerosis is primarily a disease of polyclonally and to a lesser extent clonally expanded SMCs and may have implications for the development of antiatherosclerotic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Kawai
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Atsushi Sakamoto
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Michal Mokry
- Central Diagnostic Laboratory, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands (M. Mokry, G.P.)
- Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (M. Mokry)
| | - Saikat Kumar B Ghosh
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Rika Kawakami
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Weili Xu
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Liang Guo
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Daniela T Fuller
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Takamasa Tanaka
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Palak Shah
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Anne Cornelissen
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Yu Sato
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Masayuki Mori
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Takao Konishi
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Aimee E Vozenilek
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Roma Dhingra
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Renu Virmani
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
| | - Gerard Pasterkamp
- Central Diagnostic Laboratory, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands (M. Mokry, G.P.)
| | - Aloke V Finn
- Department of Pathology, CVPath Institute, Gaithersburg, MD (K.K., A.S., S.K.B.G., R.K., W.X., L.G., D.T.F., T.T., P.S., A.C., Y.S., M. Mori, T.K., A.E.V., R.D., R.V., A.V.F.)
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore (A.V.F.)
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