CCM2L (Cerebral Cavernous Malformation 2 Like) Deletion Aggravates Cerebral Cavernous Malformation Through Map3k3-KLF Signaling Pathway

The Involvement of Krüppel-like Factors in Cardiovascular Diseases

Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are a set of DNA-binding proteins belonging to a family of zinc-finger transcription factors, which have been associated with many biological processes related to the activation or repression of genes, inducing cell growth, differentiation, and death, and the development and maintenance of tissues. In response to metabolic alterations caused by disease and stress, the heart will undergo cardiac remodeling, leading to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). KLFs are among the transcriptional factors that take control of many physiological and, in this case, pathophysiological processes of CVD. KLFs seem to be associated with congenital heart disease-linked syndromes, malformations because of autosomal diseases, mutations that relate to protein instability, and/or loss of functions such as atheroprotective activities. Ischemic damage also relates to KLF dysregulation because of the differentiation of cardiac myofibroblasts or a modified fatty acid oxidation related to the formation of a dilated cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarctions, left ventricular hypertrophy, and diabetic cardiomyopathies. In this review, we describe the importance of KLFs in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, left ventricle hypertrophy, stroke, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart diseases. We further discuss microRNAs that have been involved in certain regulatory loops of KLFs as they may act as critical in CVDs.

Cerebral Cavernous Malformation: From Mechanism to Therapy

Cerebral cavernous malformations are acquired vascular anomalies that constitute a common cause of central nervous system hemorrhage and stroke. The past 2 decades have seen a remarkable increase in our understanding of the pathogenesis of this vascular disease. This new knowledge spans genetic causes of sporadic and familial forms of the disease, molecular signaling changes in vascular endothelial cells that underlie the disease, unexpectedly strong environmental effects on disease pathogenesis, and drivers of disease end points such as hemorrhage. These novel insights are the integrated product of human clinical studies, human genetic studies, studies in mouse and zebrafish genetic models, and basic molecular and cellular studies. This review addresses the genetic and molecular underpinnings of cerebral cavernous malformation disease, the mechanisms that lead to lesion hemorrhage, and emerging biomarkers and therapies for clinical treatment of cerebral cavernous malformation disease. It may also serve as an example for how focused basic and clinical investigation and emerging technologies can rapidly unravel a complex disease mechanism.