1
|
Ruiz-Rodríguez MJ, Oller J, Martínez-Martínez S, Alarcón-Ruiz I, Toral M, Sun Y, Colmenar Á, Méndez-Olivares MJ, López-Maderuelo D, Kern CB, Nistal JF, Evangelista A, Teixido-Tura G, Campanero MR, Redondo JM. Versican accumulation drives Nos2 induction and aortic disease in Marfan syndrome via Akt activation. EMBO Mol Med 2024; 16:132-157. [PMID: 38177536 PMCID: PMC10897446 DOI: 10.1038/s44321-023-00009-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) is a life-threatening condition associated with Marfan syndrome (MFS), a disease caused by fibrillin-1 gene mutations. While various conditions causing TAAD exhibit aortic accumulation of the proteoglycans versican (Vcan) and aggrecan (Acan), it is unclear whether these ECM proteins are involved in aortic disease. Here, we find that Vcan, but not Acan, accumulated in Fbn1C1041G/+ aortas, a mouse model of MFS. Vcan haploinsufficiency protected MFS mice against aortic dilation, and its silencing reverted aortic disease by reducing Nos2 protein expression. Our results suggest that Acan is not an essential contributor to MFS aortopathy. We further demonstrate that Vcan triggers Akt activation and that pharmacological Akt pathway inhibition rapidly regresses aortic dilation and Nos2 expression in MFS mice. Analysis of aortic tissue from MFS human patients revealed accumulation of VCAN and elevated pAKT-S473 staining. Together, these findings reveal that Vcan plays a causative role in MFS aortic disease in vivo by inducing Nos2 via Akt activation and identify Akt signaling pathway components as candidate therapeutic targets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- María Jesús Ruiz-Rodríguez
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Jorge Oller
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
- Laboratory of Vascular Pathology, Hospital IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Martínez-Martínez
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Iván Alarcón-Ruiz
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Toral
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Yilin Sun
- Cell-Cell Communication & Inflammation Unit, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Ángel Colmenar
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - María José Méndez-Olivares
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Dolores López-Maderuelo
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Christine B Kern
- Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - J Francisco Nistal
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
- Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Instituto de Investigación Valdecilla (IDIVAL), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, 39005, Spain
| | | | - Gisela Teixido-Tura
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), Barcelona, 08035, Spain
| | - Miguel R Campanero
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain.
- Cell-Cell Communication & Inflammation Unit, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.
| | - Juan Miguel Redondo
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, 28029, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain.
- Cell-Cell Communication & Inflammation Unit, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|