Uncovering emergent phenotypes in endothelial cells by clustering of surrogates of cardiovascular risk factors.

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is a hallmark of atherosclerosis and is influenced by well-defined risk factors, including hypoxia, dyslipidemia, inflammation, and oscillatory flow. However, the individual and combined contributions to the molecular underpinnings of ED remain elusive. We used global gene expression in human coronary artery endothelial cells to identify gene pathways and cellular processes in response to chemical hypoxia, oxidized lipids, IL-1ß induced inflammation, oscillatory flow, and these combined stimuli. We found that clustering of the surrogate risk factors differed from the sum of the individual insults that gave rise to emergent phenotypes such as cell proliferation. We validated these observations in samples of human coronary artery atherosclerotic plaques analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing. Our findings suggest a hierarchical interaction between surrogates of CV risk factors and the advent of emergent phenotypes in response to combined stimulation in endothelial cells that may influence ED.

A Novel Aldosterone Antagonist Limits Renal Injury in 5/6 Nephrectomy.

Aldosterone antagonists slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their use is limited by hyperkalemia, especially when associated with RAS inhibitors. We examined the renoprotective effects of Ly, a novel non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blocker, through two experimental protocols: In Protocol 1, male Munich-Wistar rats underwent 5/6 renal ablation (Nx), being divided into: Nx+V, receiving vehicle, Nx+Eple, given eplerenone, 150 mg/kg/day, and Nx+Ly, given Ly, 20 mg/kg/day. A group of untreated sham-operated rats was also studied. Ly markedly raised plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone, and exerted more effective anti-albuminuric and renoprotective action than eplerenone. In Protocol 2, Nx rats remained untreated until Day 60, when they were divided into: Nx+V receiving vehicle; Nx+L treated with losartan, 50 mg/kg/day; Nx+L+Eple, given losartan and eplerenone, and Nx+L+Ly, given losartan and Ly. Treatments lasted for 90 days. As an add-on to losartan, Ly normalized blood pressure and albuminuria, and prevented CKD progression more effectively than eplerenone. This effect was associated with strong stimulation of PRA and aldosterone. Despite exhibiting higher affinity for the MR than either eplerenone or spironolactone, Ly caused no hyperkalemia. Ly may become a novel asset in the effort to detain the progression of CKD.

Progression of microalbuminuria in SHR is associated with lower expression of critical components of the apical endocytic machinery in the renal proximal tubule.

Cumulative epidemiological evidence indicates that the presence of microalbuminuria predicts a higher frequency of cardiovascular events, peripheral disease, and mortality in essential hypertension. Microalbuminuria may arise from increased glomerular permeability and/or reduced proximal tubular reabsorption of albumin by receptor-mediated endocytosis. This study aimed to evaluate the temporal pattern of urinary protein excretion and to test the hypothesis that progression of microalbuminuria is associated with decreased protein expression of critical components of the endocytic apparatus in the renal proximal tubule of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). We found that urinary albumin excretion increased progressively with blood pressure in SHR from 6 to 21 wk of age. In addition, SDS-PAGE analysis of urinary proteins showed that microalbuminuric SHR virtually excreted proteins of the size of albumin or smaller (<70 kDa), typical of tubular proteinuria. Moreover, the protein abundance of the endocytic receptors megalin and cubilin as well as of the chloride channel ClC-5 progressively decreased in the renal cortex of SHR from 6 to 21 wk of age. Expression of the vacuolar H⁺-ATPase B2 subunit was also reduced in the renal cortex of 21-wk-old compared with both 6- and 14-wk-old SHR. Collectively, our study suggests that enhanced urinary protein excretion, especially of albumin, may be due, at least in part, to lower expression of key components of the apical endocytic apparatus in the renal proximal tubule. Finally, one may speculate that dysfunction of the apical endocytic pathway in the renal proximal tubule may contribute to the development of microalbuminuria in essential hypertension.

Using gene-network landscape to dissect genotype effects of TCF7L2 genetic variant on diabetes and cardiovascular risk.

The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the TCF7L2 gene, rs7903146, is, to date, the most significant genetic marker associated with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk. Nonetheless, its functional role in disease pathology is poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate, in vascular smooth muscle cells from 92 patients undergoing aortocoronary bypass surgery, the contribution of this SNP in T2DM using expression levels and expression correlation comparison approaches, which were visually represented as gene interaction networks. Initially, the expression levels of 41 genes (seven TCF7L2 splice forms and 40 other T2DM relevant genes) were compared between rs7903146 wild-type (CC) and T2DM-risk (CT + TT) genotype groups. Next, we compared the expression correlation patterns of these 41 genes between groups to observe if the relationships between genes were different. Five TCF7L2 splice forms and nine genes showed significant expression differences between groups. RXRα gene was pinpointed as showing the most different expression correlation pattern with other genes. Therefore, T2DM risk alleles appear to be influencing TCF7L2 splice form's expression in vascular smooth muscle cells, and RXRα gene is pointed out as a treatment target candidate for risk reduction in individuals with high risk of developing T2DM, especially individuals harboring TCF7L2 risk genotypes.

Thioredoxin interacting protein genetic variation is associated with diabetes and hypertension in the Brazilian general population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between TXNIP polymorphisms, diabetes and hypertension phenotypes in the Brazilian general population. METHODS: Five hundred seventy-six individuals randomly selected from the general urban population according to the MONICA-WHO project guidelines were phenotyped for cardiovascular risk factors. A second, independent, sample composed of 487 family-trios from a different site was also selected. Nine TXNIP polymorphisms were studied. The potential association between TXNIP variability and glucose-phenotypes in children was also explored. TXNIP expression was quantified by real-time PCR in 53 samples from human smooth muscle cells primary culture. RESULTS: TXNIP rs7211 and rs7212 polymorphisms were significantly associated with glucose and blood pressure related phenotypes. In multivariate logistic regression models the studied markers remained associated with diabetes even after adjustment for covariates. TXNIP rs7211 T/rs7212 G haplotype (present in approximately 17% of individuals) was significantly associated to diabetes in both samples. In children, the TXNIP rs7211 T/rs7212 G haplotype was associated with fasting insulin concentrations. Finally, cells harboring TXNIP rs7212 G allele presented higher TXNIP expression levels compared with carriers of TXNIP rs7212 CC genotype (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Carriers of TXNIP genetic variants presented higher TXNIP expression, early signs of glucose homeostasis derangement and increased susceptibility to chronic metabolic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Our data suggest that genetic variation in the TXNIP gene may act as a "common ground" modulator of both traits: diabetes and hypertension.

Programmed hypertension in rats treated with a NF-κB inhibitor during nephrogenesis: renal mechanisms.

Suppression of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) during murine lactation causes progressive renal injury, indicating a physiological action of angiotensin II on nephrogenesis. The nuclear factor NF-κB system is one of the main intracellular mediators of angiotensin II. We investigated whether inhibition of this system with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) during rat nephrogenesis would lead to similar hypertension and renal injury as observed with RAS suppressors. Immediately after delivery, 32 Munich-Wistar dams, each nursing 6 male pups, were divided into 2 groups: C, untreated, and PDTC, receiving PDTC, 280 mg kg(-1) day(-1) orally, during 21 days. After weaning, the offspring were followed until 10 months of age without treatment. Adult rats that received neonatal PDTC exhibited stable hypertension and myocardial injury, without albuminuria. To gain additional insight into this process, the renal expression of RAS components and sodium transporters were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) at 3 and 10 months of life. Renal renin and angiotensinogen were upregulated at 3 and downregulated at 10 months of age, suggesting a role for early local RAS activation. Likewise, there was early upregulation of the proximal sodium/glucose and sodium/bicarbonate transporters, which abated later in life, suggesting that additional factors sustained hypertension in the long run. The conclusions drawn from the findings were as follows: (1) an intact NF-κB system during nephrogenesis may be essential to normal renal and cardiovascular function in adult life; (2) neonatal PDTC represents a new model of hypertension, lacking overt structural injury or functional impairment of the kidneys; and (3) hypertension in this model seems associated with early temporary activation of renal RAS and sodium transporters.

Retinoic acid and VEGF delay smooth muscle relative to endothelial differentiation to coordinate inner and outer coronary vessel wall morphogenesis.

RATIONALE: Major coronary vessels derive from the proepicardium, the cellular progenitor of the epicardium, coronary endothelium, and coronary smooth muscle cells (CoSMCs). CoSMCs are delayed in their differentiation relative to coronary endothelial cells (CoEs), such that CoSMCs mature only after CoEs have assembled into tubes. The mechanisms underlying this sequential CoE/CoSMC differentiation are unknown. Retinoic acid (RA) is crucial for vascular development and the main RA-synthesizing enzyme is progressively lost from epicardially derived cells as they differentiate into blood vessel types. In parallel, myocardial vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression also decreases along coronary vessel muscularization. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that RA and VEGF act coordinately as physiological brakes to CoSMC differentiation. METHODS AND RESULTS: In vitro assays (proepicardial cultures, cocultures, and RALDH2 [retinaldehyde dehydrogenase-2]/VEGF adenoviral overexpression) and in vivo inhibition of RA synthesis show that RA and VEGF act as repressors of CoSMC differentiation, whereas VEGF biases epicardially derived cell differentiation toward the endothelial phenotype. CONCLUSION: Experiments support a model in which early high levels of RA and VEGF prevent CoSMC differentiation from epicardially derived cells before RA and VEGF levels decline as an extensive endothelial network is established. We suggest this physiological delay guarantees the formation of a complex, hierarchical, tree of coronary vessels.

Association between glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms and triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol.

OBJECTIVE: Null genotypes of glutathione S-transferase (GSTs) exhibit absence of enzymatic activity and are hypothesized to modulate an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to identify the potential association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 deleted polymorphisms with cardiovascular risk factors and coronary atherosclerosis in two independent urban populations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Genotype distribution of GSTM1 and GSTT1 deleted polymorphism were examined in a sample of 1577 individuals from the general population and a replication sample of 871 individuals submitted to coronary angiography. Triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and the triglycerides/HDL ratio were significantly associated with a double-deleted genotype in individuals from the general population. These findings were replicated in a second, independent, population of individuals submitted to coronary angiography. In addition, coronary artery disease severity was also associated with GSTs genotypes and the risk conferred from GSTs genotype was mainly due to triglycerides/HDL ratio information. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that the presence of a double deletion genotypes of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes is associated with hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterol levels in humans. These novel findings may provide a new unexplored link between lipid metabolism and GST homeostasis.

Congenic strains provide evidence that four mapped loci in chromosomes 2, 4, and 16 influence hypertension in the SHR.

To dissect the genetic architecture controlling blood pressure (BP) regulation in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) we derived congenic rat strains for four previously mapped BP quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in chromosomes 2, 4, and 16. Target chromosomal regions from the Brown Norway rat (BN) averaging 13-29 cM were introgressed by marker-assisted breeding onto the SHR genome in 12 or 13 generations. Under normal salt intake, QTLs on chromosomes 2a, 2c, and 4 were associated with significant changes in systolic BP (13, 20, and 15 mmHg, respectively), whereas the QTL on chromosome 16 had no measurable effect. On high salt intake (1% NaCl in drinking water for 2 wk), the chromosome 16 QTL had a marked impact on SBP, as did the QTLs on chromosome 2a and 2c (18, 17, and 19 mmHg, respectively), but not the QTL on chromosome 4. Thus these four QTLs affected BP phenotypes differently: 1) in the presence of high salt intake (chromosome 16), 2) only associated with normal salt intake (chromosome 4), and 3) regardless of salt intake (chromosome 2c and 2a). Moreover, salt sensitivity was abrogated in congenics SHR.BN2a and SHR.BN16. Finally, we provide evidence for the influence of genetic background on the expression of the mapped QTLs individually or as a group. Collectively, these data reveal previously unsuspected nuances of the physiological roles of each of the four mapped BP QTLs in the SHR under basal and/or salt loading conditions unforeseen by the analysis of the F2 cross.