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Luo Y, Safabakhsh S, Palumbo A, Fiset C, Shen C, Parker J, Foster LJ, Laksman Z. Sex-Based Mechanisms of Cardiac Development and Function: Applications for Induced-Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived-Cardiomyocytes. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5964. [PMID: 38892161 PMCID: PMC11172775 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25115964] [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: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Males and females exhibit intrinsic differences in the structure and function of the heart, while the prevalence and severity of cardiovascular disease vary in the two sexes. However, the mechanisms of this sex-based dimorphism are yet to be elucidated. Sex chromosomes and sex hormones are the main contributors to sex-based differences in cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. In recent years, the advances in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac models and multi-omic approaches have enabled a more comprehensive understanding of the sex-specific differences in the human heart. Here, we provide an overview of the roles of these two factors throughout cardiac development and explore the sex hormone signaling pathways involved. We will also discuss how the employment of stem cell-based cardiac models and single-cell RNA sequencing help us further investigate sex differences in healthy and diseased hearts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhan Luo
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada; (Y.L.); (J.P.)
| | - Sina Safabakhsh
- Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, Division of Cardiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada;
| | - Alessia Palumbo
- Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; (A.P.); (L.J.F.)
| | - Céline Fiset
- Research Centre, Montreal Heart Institute, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H1T 1C8, Canada;
| | - Carol Shen
- Department of Integrated Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada;
| | - Jeremy Parker
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada; (Y.L.); (J.P.)
| | - Leonard J. Foster
- Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; (A.P.); (L.J.F.)
| | - Zachary Laksman
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada; (Y.L.); (J.P.)
- Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, Division of Cardiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada;
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Lindsey ML, Usselman CW, Ripplinger CM, Carter JR, DeLeon-Pennell KY. Sex as a biological variable for cardiovascular physiology. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2024; 326:H459-H469. [PMID: 38099847 PMCID: PMC11219053 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00727.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
There have been ongoing efforts by federal agencies and scientific communities since the early 1990s to incorporate sex and/or gender in all aspects of cardiovascular research. Scientific journals provide a critical function as change agents to influence transformation by encouraging submissions for topic areas, and by setting standards and expectations for articles submitted to the journal. As part of ongoing efforts to advance sex and gender in cardiovascular physiology research, the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology recently launched a call for papers on Considering Sex as a Biological Variable. This call was an overwhelming success, resulting in 78 articles published in this collection. This review summarizes the major themes of the collection, including Sex as a Biological Variable Within: Endothelial Cell and Vascular Physiology, Cardiovascular Immunity and Inflammation, Metabolism and Mitochondrial Energy, Extracellular Matrix Turnover and Fibrosis, Neurohormonal Signaling, and Cardiovascular Clinical and Epidemiology Assessments. Several articles also focused on establishing rigor and reproducibility of key physiological measurements involved in cardiovascular health and disease, as well as recommendations and considerations for study design. Combined, these articles summarize our current understanding of sex and gender influences on cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology and provide insight into future directions needed to further expand our knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merry L Lindsey
- School of Graduate Studies, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Research Service, Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Charlotte W Usselman
- Cardiovascular Health and Autonomic Regulation Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Crystal M Ripplinger
- Department of Pharmacology, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California, United States
| | - Jason R Carter
- Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, United States
| | - Kristine Y DeLeon-Pennell
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
- Research Service, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
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Saadat N, Ciarelli J, Pallas B, Padmanabhan V, Vyas AK. Sex-Specific Perturbation of Systemic Lipidomic Profile in Newborn Lambs Impacted by Prenatal Testosterone Excess. Endocrinology 2023; 165:bqad187. [PMID: 38060679 PMCID: PMC10750263 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqad187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Gestational hyperandrogenism adversely impacts offspring health. Using an ovine model, we found that prenatal testosterone (T) excess adversely affects growth and cardiometabolic outcomes in female offspring and produces sex-specific effects on fetal myocardium. Since lipids are essential to cardiometabolic function, we hypothesized that prenatal T excess leads to sex-specific disruptions in lipid metabolism at birth. Shotgun lipidomics was performed on the plasma samples collected 48 hours after birth from female (F) and male (M) lambs of control (C) and (T) sheep (CF = 4, TF = 7, CM = 5, TM = 10) and data were analyzed by univariate analysis, multivariate dimensionality reduction modeling followed by functional enrichment, and pathway analyses. Biosynthesis of phosphatidylserine was the major pathway responsible for sex differences in controls. Unsupervised and supervised models showed separation between C and T in both sexes with glycerophospholipids and glycerolipids classes being responsible for the sex differences between C and T. T excess increased cholesterol in females while decreasing phosphatidylcholine levels in male lambs. Specifically, T excess: 1) suppressed the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) phosphatidylcholine synthesis pathway overall and in TM lambs as opposed to suppression of carnitine levels overall and TF lambs; and 2) activated biosynthesis of ether-linked (O-)phosphatidylethanolamine and O-phosphatidylcholine from O-diacylglycerol overall and in TF lambs. Higher cholesterol levels could underlie adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in TF lambs, whereas suppressed PEMT pathway in TM lambs could lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress and defective lipid transport. These novel findings point to sex-specific effects of prenatal T excess on lipid metabolism in newborn lambs, a precocial ovine model of translational relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Saadat
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Joseph Ciarelli
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Brooke Pallas
- Unit Lab Animal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | | | - Arpita Kalla Vyas
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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Ramamoorthi Elangovan V, Saadat N, Ghnenis A, Padmanabhan V, Vyas AK. Developmental programming: adverse sexually dimorphic transcriptional programming of gestational testosterone excess in cardiac left ventricle of fetal sheep. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2682. [PMID: 36792653 PMCID: PMC9932081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29212-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse in-utero insults during fetal life alters offspring's developmental trajectory, including that of the cardiovascular system. Gestational hyperandrogenism is once such adverse in-utero insult. Gestational testosterone (T)-treatment, an environment of gestational hyperandrogenism, manifests as hypertension and pathological left ventricular (LV) remodeling in adult ovine offspring. Furthermore, sexual dimorphism is noted in cardiomyocyte number and morphology in fetal life and at birth. This study investigated transcriptional changes and potential biomarkers of prenatal T excess-induced adverse cardiac programming. Genome-wide coding and non-coding (nc) RNA expression were compared between prenatal T-treated (T propionate 100 mg intramuscular twice weekly from days 30 to 90 of gestation; Term: 147 days) and control ovine LV at day 90 fetus in both sexes. Prenatal T induced differential expression of mRNAs in the LV of female (2 down, 5 up) and male (3 down, 1 up) (FDR < 0.05, absolute log2 fold change > 0.5); pathways analysis demonstrated 205 pathways unique to the female, 382 unique to the male and 23 common pathways. In the male, analysis of ncRNA showed differential regulation of 15 lncRNAs (14 down, 1 up) and 27 snoRNAs (26 down and 1 up). These findings suggest sexual dimorphic modulation of cardiac coding and ncRNA with gestational T excess.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nadia Saadat
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Adel Ghnenis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Arpita K Vyas
- College of Medicine, California Northstate University, Elk Grove, CA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA.
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