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Wu Y, Liu X, Zheng H, Zhu H, Mai W, Huang X, Huang Y. Multiple Roles of sFRP2 in Cardiac Development and Cardiovascular Disease. Int J Biol Sci 2020; 16:730-738. [PMID: 32071544 PMCID: PMC7019133 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.40923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Wnt signaling pathway plays important roles in organ development and disease processes. Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2), a vital molecule of Wnt signaling, can regulate cardiac development and cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have suggested that sFRP2 is not only an antagonist of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, but also has a more complex relationship in myocardial fibrosis, angiogenesis, cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac regeneration. Here, we review the role of sFRP2 and Wnt signaling in cardiac development and cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wu
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China
| | - Haoxiao Zheng
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China
| | - Hailan Zhu
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China
| | - Weiyi Mai
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou
| | - Xiaohui Huang
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China
| | - Yuli Huang
- Department of Cardiology, Shunde hospital, Southern Medical University, Jiazi Road 1 Lunjiao Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, 528308, China.,The George Institute for Global Health, NSW 2042 Australia
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Hao K, Lei W, Wu H, Wu J, Yang Z, Yan S, Lu XA, Li J, Xia X, Han X, Deng W, Zhong G, Zhao ZA, Hu S. LncRNA- Safe contributes to cardiac fibrosis through Safe- Sfrp2-HuR complex in mouse myocardial infarction. Am J Cancer Res 2019; 9:7282-7297. [PMID: 31695768 PMCID: PMC6831303 DOI: 10.7150/thno.33920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationale: As a hallmark of various heart diseases, cardiac fibrosis ultimately leads to end-stage heart failure. Anti-fibrosis is a potential therapeutic strategy for heart failure. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of heart diseases that promise to serve as therapeutic targets. However, few lncRNAs have been directly implicated in cardiac fibrosis. Methods: The lncRNA expression profiles were assessed by microarray in cardiac fibrotic and remote ventricular tissues in mice with myocardial infarction. The mechanisms and functional significance of lncRNA-AK137033 in cardiac fibrosis were further investigated with both in vitro and in vivo models. Results: We identified 389 differentially expressed lncRNAs in cardiac fibrotic and remote ventricular tissues in mice with myocardial infarction. Among them, a lncRNA (AK137033) we named Safe was enriched in the nuclei of fibroblasts, and elevated in both myocardial infarction and TGF-β-induced cardiac fibrosis. Knockdown of Safe prevented TGF-β-induced fibroblast-myofibroblast transition, aberrant cell proliferation and secretion of extracellular matrix proteins in vitro, and mended the impaired cardiac function in mice suffering myocardial infarction. In vitro studies indicated that knockdown of Safe significantly inhibited the expression of its neighboring gene Sfrp2, and vice versa. The Sfrp2 overexpression obviously disturbed the regulatory effects of Safe shRNAs in both the in vitro cultured cardiac fibroblasts and myocardial infarction-induced fibrosis. Dual-Luciferase assay demonstrated that Safe and Sfrp2 mRNA stabilized each other via their complementary binding at the 3'-end. RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay indicated that RNA binding protein HuR could bind to Safe-Sfrp2 RNA duplex, whereas the knockdown of HuR dramatically reduced the stabilization of Safe and Sfrp2 mRNAs, down-regulated their expression in cardiac fibroblasts, and thus inhibited TGF-β-induced fibrosis. The Safe overexpression partially restrained the phenotype change of cardiac fibroblasts induced by Sfrp2 shRNAs, but not that induced by HuR shRNAs. Conclusions: Our study identifies Safe as a critical regulator of cardiac fibrosis, and demonstrates Safe-Sfrp2-HuR complex-mediated Sfrp2 mRNA stability is the underlying mechanism of Safe-regulated cardiac fibrosis. Fibroblast-enriched Safe could represent a novel target for anti-fibrotic therapy in heart diseases.
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Hodgkinson CP, Bareja A, Gomez JA, Dzau VJ. Emerging Concepts in Paracrine Mechanisms in Regenerative Cardiovascular Medicine and Biology. Circ Res 2016; 118:95-107. [PMID: 26837742 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.115.305373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In the past decade, substantial evidence supports the paradigm that stem cells exert their reparative and regenerative effects, in large part, through the release of biologically active molecules acting in a paracrine fashion on resident cells. The data suggest the existence of a tissue microenvironment where stem cell factors influence cell survival, inflammation, angiogenesis, repair, and regeneration in a temporal and spatial manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrad P Hodgkinson
- From the Department of Medicine, Mandel Center for Hypertension Research and Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
| | - Akshay Bareja
- From the Department of Medicine, Mandel Center for Hypertension Research and Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
| | - José A Gomez
- From the Department of Medicine, Mandel Center for Hypertension Research and Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
| | - Victor J Dzau
- From the Department of Medicine, Mandel Center for Hypertension Research and Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.
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Abstract
Wnt signaling encompasses multiple and complex signaling cascades and is involved in many developmental processes such as tissue patterning, cell fate specification, and control of cell division. Consequently, accurate regulation of signaling activities is essential for proper embryonic development. Wnt signaling is mostly silent in the healthy adult organs but a reactivation of Wnt signaling is generally observed under pathological conditions. This has generated increasing interest in this pathway from a therapeutic point of view. In this review article, the involvement of Wnt signaling in cardiovascular development will be outlined, followed by its implication in myocardial infarct healing, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, arrhythmias, and atherosclerosis. The initial experiments not always offer consensus on the effects of activation or inactivation of the pathway, which may be attributed to (i) the type of cardiac disease, (ii) timing of the intervention, and (iii) type of cells that are targeted. Therefore, more research is needed to determine the exact implication of Wnt signaling in the conditions mentioned above to exploit it as a powerful therapeutic target.
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Matthijs Blankesteijn W, Hermans KCM. Wnt signaling in atherosclerosis. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 763:122-30. [PMID: 25987418 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 05/01/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is a disease of the vascular wall that forms the basis for a large spectrum of pathologies of various organs and tissues. Although massive research efforts in the last decades have yielded valuable information about its underlying molecular mechanisms, this has not led to a translation into effective therapeutic interventions that can stop the progression or even can induce regression of atherosclerosis. This underscores the importance of investigations on the involvement of novel signaling pathways in the development and progression of this condition. In this review we focus on the role of Wnt signaling in atherosclerosis. Experimental evidence is presented that Wnt signaling is involved in many aspects of the development and progression of vascular lesions including endothelial dysfunction, macrophage activation and the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. Subsequently, we will discuss the role of Wnt signaling in myocardial infarction and stroke, two common pathologies resulting from the progression of atherosclerotic lesions towards an unstable phenotype. Despite the fact that the published data sometimes are ambiguous or even conflicting, a picture is emerging that an attenuation of Wnt signaling is beneficial for the cardiovascular system that is compromised by atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Matthijs Blankesteijn
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Kevin C M Hermans
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Mastri M, Shah Z, Hsieh K, Wang X, Wooldridge B, Martin S, Suzuki G, Lee T. Secreted Frizzled-related protein 2 as a target in antifibrotic therapeutic intervention. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2013; 306:C531-9. [PMID: 24336656 DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00238.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Progressive fibrosis is a pathological hallmark of many chronic diseases responsible for organ failure. Although there is currently no therapy on the market that specifically targets fibrosis, the dynamic fibrogenic process is known to be regulated by multiple soluble mediators that may be therapeutically intervened. The failing hamster heart exhibits marked fibrosis and increased expression of secreted Frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) amenable to reversal by mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy. Given the previous demonstration that sFRP2-null mice subjected to myocardial infarction exhibited reduced fibrosis and improved function, we tested whether antibody-based sFRP2 blockade might counteract the fibrogenic pathway and repair cardiac injury. Cardiomyopathic hamsters were injected intraperitoneally twice a week each with 20 μg of sFRP2 antibody. Echocardiography, histology, and biochemical analyses were performed after 1 mo. sFRP2 antibody increased left ventricular ejection fraction from 40 ± 1.2 to 49 ± 6.5%, whereas saline and IgG control exhibited a further decline to 37 ± 0.9 and 31 ± 3.2%, respectively. Functional improvement is associated with a ∼ 50% reduction in myocardial fibrosis, ∼ 65% decrease in apoptosis, and ∼ 75% increase in wall thickness. Consistent with attenuated fibrosis, both MSC therapy and sFRP2 antibody administration significantly increased the activity of myocardial matrix metalloproteinase-2. Gene expression analysis of the hamster heart and cultured fibroblasts identified Axin2 as a downstream target, the expression of which was activated by sFRP2 but inhibited by therapeutic intervention. sFRP2 blockade also increased myocardial levels of VEGF and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) along with increased angiogenesis. These findings highlight the pathogenic effect of dysregulated sFRP2, which may be specifically targeted for antifibrotic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michalis Mastri
- Department of Biochemistry and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Research in Cardiovascular Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
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