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Li XX, Chen ZD, Sun XJ, Yang YQ, Jin H, Liu NF. Empagliflozin ameliorates vascular calcification in diabetic mice through inhibiting Bhlhe40-dependent NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2024; 45:751-764. [PMID: 38172306 PMCID: PMC10943241 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-023-01217-0] [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: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients exhibit greater susceptibility to vascular calcification (VC), which has a higher risk of death and disability. However, there is no specific drug for VC therapy. NLRP3 inflammasome activation as a hallmark event of medial calcification leads to arterial stiffness, causing vasoconstrictive dysfunction in T2DM. Empagliflozin (EMPA), a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i), restrains hyperglycemia with definite cardiovascular benefits. Given the anti-inflammatory activity of EMPA, herein we investigated whether EMPA protected against VC in the aorta of T2DM mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Since db/db mice receiving a normal diet developed VC at the age of about 20 weeks, we administered EMPA (5, 10, 20 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g) to 8 week-old db/db mice for 12 weeks. We showed that EMPA intervention dose-dependently ameliorated the calcium deposition, accompanied by reduced expression of RUNX2 and BMP2 proteins in the aortas. We found that EMPA (10 mg·kg-1·d-1 for 6 weeks) also protected against VC in vitamin D3-overloaded mice, suggesting the protective effects independent of metabolism. We showed that EMPA (10 mg·kg-1·d-1) inhibited the abnormal activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in aortic smooth muscle layer of db/db mice. Knockout (KO) of NLRP3 significantly alleviated VC in STZ-induced diabetic mice. The protective effects of EMPA were verified in high glucose (HG)-treated mouse aortic smooth muscle cells (MOVASs). In HG-treated NLRP3 KO MOVASs, EMPA (1 μM) did not cause further improvement. Bioinformatics and Western blot analysis revealed that EMPA significantly increased the expression levels of basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factor e40 (Bhlhe40) in HG-treated MOVASs, which served as a negative transcription factor directly binding to the promotor of Nlrp3. We conclude that EMPA ameliorates VC by inhibiting Bhlhe40-dpendent NLRP3 inflammasome activation. These results might provide potential significance for EMPA in VC therapy of T2DM patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Xue Li
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Zheng-Dong Chen
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Xue-Jiao Sun
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Yi-Qing Yang
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Hong Jin
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Nai-Feng Liu
- Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210009, China.
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Li G, Yang T, Liu Y, Su H, Liu W, Fang D, Jin L, Jin F, Xu T, Duan C. The proteins derived from platelet-rich plasma improve the endothelialization and vascularization of small diameter vascular grafts. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 225:574-587. [PMID: 36395946 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Vascular transplantation has become an ideal substitute for heart and peripheral vascular bypass therapy and tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) present an attractive potential solution for vascular surgery. However, small diameter (Ф < 6 mm) vascular do not have ideal TEVGs for clinical use. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a key source of bioactive molecules, has been confirmed to promote tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, we prepared PRP-loaded TEVGs (PRP-TEVGs) by electrospinning, investigated the characterization of TEVGs, and verified the effect of PRP-TEVGs in vivo and in vitro experiments. The results suggested that PRP-TEVGs had good biocompatibility, released growth factors stably, promoted cell proliferation and migration significantly, up-regulated the expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in functional vascular endothelial cells (VECs), and maintained the stability of the endothelial structure. In vivo experiments suggest that PRP can promote rapid endothelialization and reconstruction of TEVGs. Overall, this finding indicated that PRP could promote the rapid vascular endothelialization of small-diameter TEVGs by improving contractile vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) regeneration, and maintaining the integrity and functionality of VECs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangxu Li
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Tao Yang
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Yanchao Liu
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Hengxian Su
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Wenchao Liu
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Dazhao Fang
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Lei Jin
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Fa Jin
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China
| | - Tao Xu
- Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China; East China Institute of Digital Medical Engineering, Shangrao 334000, China.
| | - Chuanzhi Duan
- Neurosurgery Center, Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, The Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Disease, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China.
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Jia Y, Mao C, Ma Z, Huang J, Li W, Ma X, Zhang S, Li M, Yu F, Sun Y, Chen J, Feng J, Zhou Y, Xu Q, Zhao L, Fu Y, Kong W. PHB2 Maintains the Contractile Phenotype of VSMCs by Counteracting PKM2 Splicing. Circ Res 2022; 131:807-824. [PMID: 36200440 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.122.321005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phenotypic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) accounts for the pathogenesis of a variety of vascular diseases during the early stage. Recent studies indicate the metabolic reprogramming may be involved in VSMC phenotypic transition. However, the definite molecules that link energy metabolism to distinct VSMC phenotype remain elusive. METHODS A carotid artery injury model was used to study postinjury neointima formation as well as VSMC phenotypic transition in vivo. RNA-seq analysis, cell migration assay, collagen gel contraction assay, wire myography assay, immunoblotting, protein interactome analysis, co-immunoprecipitation, and mammalian 2-hybrid assay were performed to clarify the phenotype and elucidate the molecular mechanisms. RESULTS We collected cell energy-regulating genes by using Gene Ontology annotation and applied RNA-Seq analysis of transforming growth factor-β or platelet-derived growth factor BB stimulated VSMCs. Six candidate genes were overlapped from energy metabolism-related genes and genes reciprocally upregulated by transforming growth factor-β and downregulated by platelet-derived growth factor BB. Among them, prohibitin 2 has been reported to regulate mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Indeed, prohibitin 2-deficient VSMCs lost the contractile phenotype as evidenced by reduced contractile proteins. Consistently, Phb2SMCKO mice were more susceptible to postinjury VSMC proliferation and neointima formation compared with Phb2flox/flox mice. Further protein interactome analysis, co-immunoprecipitation, and mammalian 2-hybrid assay revealed that prohibitin 2, through its C-terminus, directly interacts with hnRNPA1, a key modulator of pyruvate kinase M1/2 (PKM) mRNA splicing that promotes PKM2 expression and glycolysis. Prohibitin 2 deficiency facilitated PKM1/2 mRNA splicing and reversion from PKM1 to PKM2, and enhanced glycolysis in VSMCs. Blocking prohibitin 2-hnRNPA1 interaction resulted in increased PKM2 expression, enhanced glycolysis, repressed contractile marker genes expression in VSMCs, as well as aggravated postinjury neointima formation in vivo. CONCLUSIONS Prohibitin 2 maintains VSMC contractile phenotype by interacting with hnRNPA1 to counteract hnRNPA1-mediated PKM alternative splicing and glucose metabolic reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiting Jia
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Chenfeng Mao
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.).,Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, P. R. China (C.M.)
| | - Zihan Ma
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Jiaqi Huang
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Wenqiang Li
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Xiaolong Ma
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Siting Zhang
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Meihong Li
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Fang Yu
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Yingying Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.S., J.C.)
| | - Jingzhou Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.S., J.C.)
| | - Juan Feng
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Qingbo Xu
- Cardiovascular Division, Kings College London BHF Centre, London SE5 9NU, UK (Q.X.).,Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, P. R. China (Q.X.)
| | - Ling Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangzhou, P. R. China (L.Z.)
| | - Yi Fu
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
| | - Wei Kong
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P. R. China (Y.J., C.M., Z.M., J.H., W.L., X.M., S.Z., M.L., F.Y., J.F., Y.Z., Y.F., W.K.)
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Chen J, Zhuang R, Cheng HS, Jamaiyar A, Assa C, McCoy M, Rawal S, Pérez-Cremades D, Feinberg MW. Isolation and culture of murine aortic cells and RNA isolation of aortic intima and media: Rapid and optimized approaches for atherosclerosis research. Atherosclerosis 2022; 347:39-46. [PMID: 35306416 PMCID: PMC9007896 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2022.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Isolation of cellular constituents from the mouse aorta is commonly used for expression or functional analyses in atherosclerosis research. However, current procedures to isolate primary cells are difficult, inefficient, and require separate mice. RNA extraction from aortic intima and media for transcriptomic analysis is also considered difficult with mixed RNA yields. To address these gaps, we provide: 1) a rapid, efficient protocol to isolate and culture diverse cell types concomitantly from the mouse aorta using immunomagnetic cell isolation; and 2) an optimized aortic intimal peeling technique for efficient RNA isolation from the intima and media. METHODS AND RESULTS Aortic cells were obtained using an enzymatic solution and different cell types were isolated by magnetic beads conjugated to antibodies targeting endothelial cells (CD31+), leukocytes (CD45+), and fibroblast cells (CD90.2+), and smooth muscle cells were isolated by negative selection. Our protocol allows the isolation of relatively large numbers of cells (10,000 cells per aorta) in a predictable manner with high purity (>90%) verified by cell-marker gene expression, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. These cells are all functionally active when grown in cell culture. We also provide a rapid method to collect aortic intima-enriched RNA from Ldlr-/- mice utilizing an intima peeling approach and assess transcriptomic profiling associated with accelerated lesion formation. CONCLUSIONS This protocol provides an effective means for magnetic bead-based isolation of different cell types from the mouse aortic wall, and the isolated cells can be utilized for functional and mechanistic studies for a range of vascular diseases including atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingshu Chen
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Rulin Zhuang
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China
| | - Henry S Cheng
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Anurag Jamaiyar
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Carmel Assa
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Michael McCoy
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Shruti Rawal
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Daniel Pérez-Cremades
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Physiology, University of Valencia and INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute, Valencia, 46010, Spain
| | - Mark W Feinberg
- Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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