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Bousalis D, Lacko CS, Hlavac N, Alkassis F, Wachs RA, Mobini S, Schmidt CE, Kasahara H. Extracellular Matrix Disparities in an Nkx2-5 Mutant Mouse Model of Congenital Heart Disease. Front Cardiovasc Med 2020; 7:93. [PMID: 32548129 PMCID: PMC7272573 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2020.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects almost one percent of all live births. Despite diagnostic and surgical reparative advances, the causes and mechanisms of CHD are still primarily unknown. The extracellular matrix plays a large role in cell communication, function, and differentiation, and therefore likely plays a role in disease development and pathophysiology. Cell adhesion and gap junction proteins, such as integrins and connexins, are also essential to cellular communication and behavior, and could interact directly (integrins) or indirectly (connexins) with the extracellular matrix. In this work, we explore disparities in the expression and spatial patterning of extracellular matrix, adhesion, and gap junction proteins between wild type and Nkx2-5 +/R52G mutant mice. Decellularization and proteomic analysis, Western blotting, histology, immunostaining, and mechanical assessment of embryonic and neonatal wild type and Nkx2-5 mutant mouse hearts were performed. An increased abundance of collagen IV, fibronectin, and integrin β-1 was found in Nkx2-5 mutant neonatal mouse hearts, as well as increased expression of connexin 43 in embryonic mutant hearts. Furthermore, a ventricular noncompaction phenotype was observed in both embryonic and neonatal mutant hearts, as well as spatial disorganization of ECM proteins collagen IV and laminin in mutant hearts. Characterizing such properties in a mutant mouse model provides valuable information that can be applied to better understanding the mechanisms of congenital heart disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna Bousalis
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Christopher S Lacko
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Nora Hlavac
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Fariz Alkassis
- Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Rebecca A Wachs
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
| | - Sahba Mobini
- Instituto de Micro y Nanotecnología, IMN-CNM, CSIC (CEI UAM+CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO, UAM-CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christine E Schmidt
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Hideko Kasahara
- Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Dissecting the Role of the Extracellular Matrix in Heart Disease: Lessons from the Drosophila Genetic Model. Vet Sci 2017; 4:vetsci4020024. [PMID: 29056683 PMCID: PMC5606597 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci4020024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic scaffold within organs and tissues that enables cell morphogenesis and provides structural support. Changes in the composition and organisation of the cardiac ECM are required for normal development. Congenital and age-related cardiac diseases can arise from mis-regulation of structural ECM proteins (Collagen, Laminin) or their receptors (Integrin). Key regulators of ECM turnover include matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs). MMP expression is increased in mice, pigs, and dogs with cardiomyopathy. The complexity and longevity of vertebrate animals makes a short-lived, genetically tractable model organism, such as Drosophila melanogaster, an attractive candidate for study. We survey ECM macromolecules and their role in heart development and growth, which are conserved between Drosophila and vertebrates, with focus upon the consequences of altered expression or distribution. The Drosophila heart resembles that of vertebrates during early development, and is amenable to in vivo analysis. Experimental manipulation of gene function in a tissue- or temporally-regulated manner can reveal the function of adhesion or ECM genes in the heart. Perturbation of the function of ECM proteins, or of the MMPs that facilitate ECM remodelling, induces cardiomyopathies in Drosophila, including cardiodilation, arrhythmia, and cardia bifida, that provide mechanistic insight into cardiac disease in mammals.
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