Identification of key differential genes in intimal hyperplasia induced by left carotid artery ligation

LY86 facilitates ox-LDL-induced lipid accumulation in macrophages by upregulating SREBP2/HMGCR expression

LY86, also known as MD1, has been implicated in various pathophysiological processes including inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, and immunoregulation. However, the role of LY86 in cholesterol metabolism remains incompletely understood. Several studies have reported significant up-regulation of LY86 mRNA in atherosclerosis; nevertheless, the regulatory mechanism by which LY86 is involved in this disease remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether LY86 affects ox-LDL-induced lipid accumulation in macrophages. Firstly, we confirmed that LY86 is indeed involved in the process of atherosclerosis and found high expression levels of LY86 in human atherosclerotic plaque tissue. Furthermore, our findings suggest that LY86 may mediate intracellular lipid accumulation induced by ox-LDL through the SREBP2/HMGCR pathway. This mechanism could be associated with increased cholesterol synthesis resulting from enhanced endoplasmic reticulum stress response.

Cardiovascular adverse events in chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with nilotinib or imatinib: A systematic review, meta-analysis and integrative bioinformatics analysis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this article is to assess the risk and potential mechanisms of cardiovascular adverse events in patients treated with nilotinib or imatinib by conducting a systematic review, meta-analysis and integrative bioinformatics analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three databases were systematically searched for studies published from inception to May 29, 2022. Differential expression analysis and weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed to search for modules of genes most associated with cardiotoxicity. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was then performed to identify hub genes for the cardiotoxicity of nilotinib. Molecular docking was used to analyze the effects of rosuvastatin and aspirin on these targets.

RESULTS

Patients treated with nilotinib as first-line treatment were associated with a higher risk of CAE (OR = 3.43 [95% CI 2.77-4.25]), CAD (OR = 5.30 [95% CI 3.85-7.29]), ACS (OR 2.7 [95% CI 1.60-4.54]), CVA (OR 5.76 [95% CI 2.84-11.28]), PAOD (OR 5.57 [95% CI 3.26-9.50]) and arrhythmia (OR 2.34 [1.17,4.67]) than those treated with imatinib, while no significant difference was found in the risk of HF (OR 1.40 [95% CI 0.42-4.69]) between the two groups. Patients who were treated with more than 600 mg daily dosage of nilotinib or followed up for more than 5 years had a higher risk of ACS and CVA. IL6, CXCL8, CCL2, SOD2, NFKBIA, and BIRC3 were identified as the top 6 hub genes in the magenta module (human cardiomyocyte samples) and were mainly enriched in the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, lipid and atherosclerosis signaling pathway. TYROBP and CSF1R were identified as hub genes in the turquoise module (liver samples from Mus musculus). GSEA results showed that type II diabetes mellitus, B-cell receptor, apoptosis, insulin, natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity,mTOR, chemokine, and T-cell receptor signaling pathways were related to the higher risk of atherosclerosis caused by nilotinib. Rosuvastatin can effectively bind to most of the hub targets and proteins enriched in the inflammatory pathways above.

CONCLUSION

CML patients who start with nilotinib have a higher risk of CAE than those with imatinib. Atherosclerosis caused by the inflammatory response and glycolipid metabolism disorder is the key mechanism of nilotinib cardiotoxicity. Rosuvastatin may be an effective treatment for the cardiotoxicity of nilotinib.

Expression profiles and functions of ferroptosis-related genes in intimal hyperplasia induced by carotid artery ligation in mice

Intimal hyperplasia (IH) is a prominent pathological event that occurs during in-stent restenosis and atherosclerosis. Ferroptosis, characterized by iron-dependent and lipid peroxidation, has become the recent focus of studies on the occurrence and progress of cardiovascular diseases. However, there are few studies on ferroptosis and IH. Therefore, we aimed to identify and validate ferroptosis-related markers in IH to explore new possibilities for IH diagnosis and treatment. The IH microarray dataset (GSE182291) was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) were obtained from the FerrDb databases. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using the GEO2R. Overlapping was performed to identify the ferroptosis-related DEGs among the DEGs and FRGs. Then, clustering, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment, and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analyses were performed. Subsequently, the hub genes were identified using Cytoscape and hub gene–transcription factors and hub gene–microRNA networks were constructed. Finally, real-time qPCR (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to verify the mRNA and protein levels of the hub FRGs in IH. Thirty-four FRGs showing significantly different expression were identified from a total of 1,197 DEGs 2 days after ligation; 31 FRGs were selected from a total of 1,556 DEGs 14 days after ligation. The GO and KEGG analyses revealed that these 34 ferroptosis-related DEGs identified 2 days after ligation were mainly enriched in the basolateral plasma membrane, ferroptosis, lipid and atherosclerosis, and IL-17 signaling pathways. The 31 ferroptosis-related DEGs in endometrial hyperplasia identified 14 days after ligation were mainly enriched in response to oxidative stress, ferroptosis, tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, and lipid and atherosclerosis. Five hub FRGs (Il1b, Ptgs2, Cybb, Cd44, and Tfrc) were identified using PPI networks; four hub FRGs (Il1b, Ptgs2, Cybb, and Cd44) were validated to be upregulated 2 and 14 days after ligation using RT-qPCR and show significantly different expression 14 days after ligation via IHC. Our findings verify the expression of hub DEGs related to ferroptosis in IH and elucidate the potential relationship between ferroptosis and IH, providing more evidence about the vital role of ferroptosis in IH.