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DeBenedittis P, Karpurapu A, Henry A, Thomas MC, McCord TJ, Brezitski K, Prasad A, Baker CE, Kobayashi Y, Shah SH, Kontos CD, Tata PR, Lumbers RT, Karra R. Coupled myovascular expansion directs cardiac growth and regeneration. Development 2022; 149:dev200654. [PMID: 36134690 PMCID: PMC10692274 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
Heart regeneration requires multiple cell types to enable cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation. How these cells interact to create growth niches is unclear. Here, we profile proliferation kinetics of cardiac endothelial cells (CECs) and CMs in the neonatal mouse heart and find that they are spatiotemporally coupled. We show that coupled myovascular expansion during cardiac growth or regeneration is dependent upon VEGF-VEGFR2 signaling, as genetic deletion of Vegfr2 from CECs or inhibition of VEGFA abrogates both CEC and CM proliferation. Repair of cryoinjury displays poor spatial coupling of CEC and CM proliferation. Boosting CEC density after cryoinjury with virus encoding Vegfa enhances regeneration. Using Mendelian randomization, we demonstrate that circulating VEGFA levels are positively linked with human myocardial mass, suggesting that Vegfa can stimulate human cardiac growth. Our work demonstrates the importance of coupled CEC and CM expansion and reveals a myovascular niche that may be therapeutically targeted for heart regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paige DeBenedittis
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Anish Karpurapu
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Albert Henry
- Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Michael C. Thomas
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Timothy J. McCord
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Kyla Brezitski
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Anil Prasad
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Caroline E. Baker
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | | | - Svati H. Shah
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Christopher D. Kontos
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Purushothama Rao Tata
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Regeneration Next, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Center for Aging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - R. Thomas Lumbers
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Health Data Research UK London, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- British Heart Foundation Research Accelerator, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ravi Karra
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Regeneration Next, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Center for Aging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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