We have located links that may give you full text access.
Translatome profiling reveals Itih4 as a novel smooth muscle cell-specific gene in atherosclerosis.
Cardiovascular Research 2024 January 31
AIMS: Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and their derivatives are key contributors to the development of atherosclerosis. However, studying changes in SMC gene expression in heterogeneous vascular tissues is challenging due to the technical limitations and high cost associated with current approaches. In this paper, we apply Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification sequencing (TRAP-Seq) to profile SMC-specific gene expression directly from tissue.
METHODS AND RESULTS: To facilitate SMC-specific translatome analysis, we generated SMCTRAP mice, a transgenic mouse line expressing EGFP-tagged ribosomal protein L10a (EGFP-L10a) under the control of the SMC-specific αSMA promoter. These mice were further crossed with the atherosclerosis model Ldlr-/-, ApoB100/100 to generate SMCTRAP-AS mice and used to profile atherosclerosis-associated SMCs in thoracic aorta samples of 15-month-old SMCTRAP and SMCTRAP-AS mice. Our analysis of SMCTRAP-AS mice showed that EGFP-L10a expression was localized to SMCs in various tissues, including the aortic wall and plaque. The TRAP fraction demonstrated high enrichment of known SMC-specific genes, confirming the specificity of our approach. We identified several genes, including Cemip, Lum, Mfge8, Spp1, and Serpina3, that are known to be involved in atherosclerosis-induced gene expression. Moreover, we identified several novel genes not previously linked to SMCs in atherosclerosis, such as Anxa4, Cd276, Itih4, Myof, Pcdh11x, Rab31, Serpinb6b, Slc35e4, Slc8a3, and Spink5. Among them, we confirmed the SMC-specific expression of Itih4 in atherosclerotic lesions using immunofluorescence staining of mouse aortic roots and spatial transcriptomics of human carotid arteries. Furthermore, our more detailed analysis of Itih4 showed its link to coronary artery disease (CAD) through the colocalization of GWAS, splice-QTL, and protein-QTL signals.
CONCLUSIONS: We generated a SMC-specific TRAP mouse line to study atherosclerosis and identified Itih4 as a novel SMC-expressed gene in atherosclerotic plaques, warranting further investigation of its putative function in extracellular matrix stability and genetic evidence of causality.
METHODS AND RESULTS: To facilitate SMC-specific translatome analysis, we generated SMCTRAP mice, a transgenic mouse line expressing EGFP-tagged ribosomal protein L10a (EGFP-L10a) under the control of the SMC-specific αSMA promoter. These mice were further crossed with the atherosclerosis model Ldlr-/-, ApoB100/100 to generate SMCTRAP-AS mice and used to profile atherosclerosis-associated SMCs in thoracic aorta samples of 15-month-old SMCTRAP and SMCTRAP-AS mice. Our analysis of SMCTRAP-AS mice showed that EGFP-L10a expression was localized to SMCs in various tissues, including the aortic wall and plaque. The TRAP fraction demonstrated high enrichment of known SMC-specific genes, confirming the specificity of our approach. We identified several genes, including Cemip, Lum, Mfge8, Spp1, and Serpina3, that are known to be involved in atherosclerosis-induced gene expression. Moreover, we identified several novel genes not previously linked to SMCs in atherosclerosis, such as Anxa4, Cd276, Itih4, Myof, Pcdh11x, Rab31, Serpinb6b, Slc35e4, Slc8a3, and Spink5. Among them, we confirmed the SMC-specific expression of Itih4 in atherosclerotic lesions using immunofluorescence staining of mouse aortic roots and spatial transcriptomics of human carotid arteries. Furthermore, our more detailed analysis of Itih4 showed its link to coronary artery disease (CAD) through the colocalization of GWAS, splice-QTL, and protein-QTL signals.
CONCLUSIONS: We generated a SMC-specific TRAP mouse line to study atherosclerosis and identified Itih4 as a novel SMC-expressed gene in atherosclerotic plaques, warranting further investigation of its putative function in extracellular matrix stability and genetic evidence of causality.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Obesity pharmacotherapy in older adults: a narrative review of evidence.International Journal of Obesity 2024 May 7
Haemodynamic monitoring during noncardiac surgery: past, present, and future.Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing 2024 April 31
SGLT2 Inhibitors in Kidney Diseases-A Narrative Review.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024 May 2
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app