scholarly journals Homocysteine Impairs Endothelial Cell Barrier Function and Angiogenic Potential via the Progranulin/EphA2 Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Tian ◽  
Qing Qin ◽  
Mingfei Li ◽  
Xiaoyu Li ◽  
Qing Xu ◽  
...  

Hyperhomocysteinemia is a well-recognized independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To date, the mechanism of pathological plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level elevation remains to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate the levels of progranulin (PGRN), Eph-receptor tyrosine kinase-type A2 (EphA2), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and Hcy in patients with arteriosclerosis and investigate their functions in Hcy-injured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). EphA2 knockdown was induced in HUVECs by shRNA lentivirus infection with EphA2-RNAi, and bulk RNA-seq assay was performed. Then we investigated the mechanism underlying the effect of recombinant human PGRN (rhPGRN) combined with shRNA interference of EphA2 on cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in Hcy-injured HUVECs. Results showed that serum EphA2, VCAM-1, and Hcy levels in acute coronary syndrome patients were significantly higher than those in chronic coronary syndrome patients (p = 0.000; p = 0.000; p = 0.033, respectively). In vitro, we demonstrated that knockdown of EphA2 significantly impaired cell adhesion and inhibited HUVECs migration and angiogenesis (p < 0.001), which was associated with reduction in VCAM1 and VE-cadherin (p < 0.05). Hcy modulated the expression of PGRN and EphA2 in a time-and dose-dependent manner. However, rhPGRN ameliorated the Hcy-induced reduction in cell viability and migration (p < 0.05). Mechanistically, we found that PGRN/EphA2 and its downstream AKT/NF-κB signaling might be the primary signal transduction pathways underlying Hcy-induced injury. The present study illustrated that PGRN plays a previously unrecognized role in Hcy-induced endothelial injury, which is achieved through its interaction with EphA2 signaling, implying a promising therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease.

Author(s):  
Susan Gallogly ◽  
Takeshi Fujisawa ◽  
John D. Hung ◽  
Mairi Brittan ◽  
Elizabeth M. Skinner ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Endothelial dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome. The study of diseased endothelium is very challenging due to inherent difficulties in isolating endothelial cells from the coronary vascular bed. We sought to isolate and characterise coronary endothelial cells from patients undergoing thrombectomy for myocardial infarction to develop a patient-specific in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 49 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with thrombus aspiration. Specimens were cultured, and coronary endothelial outgrowth (CEO) cells were isolated. CEO cells, endothelial cells isolated from peripheral blood, explanted coronary arteries, and umbilical veins were phenotyped and assessed functionally in vitro and in vivo. Results CEO cells were obtained from 27/37 (73%) atherothrombotic specimens and gave rise to cells with cobblestone morphology expressing CD146 (94 ± 6%), CD31 (87 ± 14%), and von Willebrand factor (100 ± 1%). Proliferation of CEO cells was impaired compared to both coronary artery and umbilical vein endothelial cells (population doubling time, 2.5 ± 1.0 versus 1.6 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.3 days, respectively). Cell migration was also reduced compared to umbilical vein endothelial cells (29 ± 20% versus 85±19%). Importantly, unlike control endothelial cells, dysfunctional CEO cells did not incorporate into new vessels or promote angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusions CEO cells can be reliably isolated and cultured from thrombectomy specimens in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Compared to controls, patient-derived coronary endothelial cells had impaired capacity to proliferate, migrate, and contribute to angiogenesis. CEO cells could be used to identify novel therapeutic targets to enhance endothelial function and prevent acute coronary syndromes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Zippel ◽  
Annemarieke Loot ◽  
Heike Stingl ◽  
Voahanginirina Randriamboavonjy ◽  
Ingrid Fleming ◽  
...  

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is frequently reported to phosphorylate Ser1177 of the endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS), and therefore, is linked with a relaxing effect. However, previous studies failed to consistently demonstrate a major role for AMPK on eNOS-dependent relaxation. As AMPK also phosphorylates eNOS on the inhibitory Thr495 site, this study aimed to determine the role of AMPKα1 and α2 subunits in the regulation of NO-mediated vascular relaxation. Vascular reactivity to phenylephrine and acetylcholine was assessed in aortic and carotid artery segments from mice with global (AMPKα−/−) or endothelial-specific deletion (AMPKαΔEC) of the AMPKα subunits. In control and AMPKα1-depleted human umbilical vein endothelial cells, eNOS phosphorylation on Ser1177 and Thr495 was assessed after AMPK activation with thiopental or ionomycin. Global deletion of the AMPKα1 or α2 subunit in mice did not affect vascular reactivity. The endothelial-specific deletion of the AMPKα1 subunit attenuated phenylephrine-mediated contraction in an eNOS- and endothelium-dependent manner. In in vitro studies, activation of AMPK did not alter the phosphorylation of eNOS on Ser1177, but increased its phosphorylation on Thr495. Depletion of AMPKα1 in cultured human endothelial cells decreased Thr495 phosphorylation without affecting Ser1177 phosphorylation. The results of this study indicate that AMPKα1 targets the inhibitory phosphorylation Thr495 site in the calmodulin-binding domain of eNOS to attenuate basal NO production and phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Sun ◽  
Dongcao Lv ◽  
Qiulian Zhou ◽  
Yihua Bei ◽  
Junjie Xiao

MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs), endogenous small non-coding RNA, have been shown to act as essential regulators in angiogenesis which plays important roles in improving blood flow and cardiac function following myocardial infarction. The current study investigated the potential of miR-4260 in endothelial cell function and angiogenesis using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Our data demonstrated that overexpression of miR-4260 was associated with increased proliferation and migration of HUVEC using EdU incorporation assay (17.25%±1.31 vs 25.78%±1.24 in nc-mimics vs miR-4260 mimics, respectively) and wound healing assay, respectively. While downregulation of miR-4260 inhibited the proliferation (17.90%±1.37 vs 10.66%±1.41 in nc-inhibitor vs miR-4260 inhibitor, respectively) and migration of HUVEC. Furthermore, we found that miR-4260 mimics increased (129.75±3.68 vs 147±3.13 in nc-mimics vs miR-4260 mimics, respectively), while miR-4260 inhibitor decreased the tube formation of HUVECs in vitro (123.25±2.17 vs 92±4.45 in nc-inhibitor vs miR-4260 inhibitor expression, respectively). Our data indicate that miR-4260 contributes to the proliferation, migration and tube formation of endothelial cells, and might be essential regulators for angiogenesis. Further study is needed to investigate the underlying mechanism that mediates the role of miR-4260 in angiogenesis by identifying its putative downstream target genes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1250-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuan P. Cheah ◽  
Jeroen L.A. Pennings ◽  
Jolanda P. Vermeulen ◽  
Roger W.L. Godschalk ◽  
Frederik J. van Schooten ◽  
...  

Aldehydes cause gene expression changes for genes associated with cardiovascular disease. Exposure to aldehydes from tobacco smoke needs to be controlled.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 352-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Safaeian ◽  
Golnaz Vaseghi ◽  
Hedieh Jabari ◽  
Nasim Dana

The proprotein convertases family is involved in several physiological processes such as cell growth, migration, and angiogenesis, and also in different pathological conditions. Evolocumab, an inhibitor of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), has recently been approved for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. This study aimed to investigate the effect of evolocumab on angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and Transwell methods. In vitro angiogenesis was assessed by tube formation assay. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion by HUVECs was also determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Evolocumab significantly increased HUVECs viability at 100 μg/mL. Significant enhancement in cell migration, and mean tubules length and size was observed at the concentrations of 10 and 100 μg/mL and also in mean number of junctions at the concentration of 100 μg/mL. Administration of evolocumab at the concentration of 10 μg/mL increased VEGF release into supernatants of HUVECs. Findings of this investigation provided in vitro evidence for pro-angiogenic activity of evolocumab through promoting cell proliferation, migration, tubulogenesis, and VEGF secretion in HUVECs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Liang ◽  
Yang Xiang ◽  
Xiaokang Zhang ◽  
Chen Wang ◽  
Bingyu Jin ◽  
...  

Background: Xuefu Zhuyu decoration (XFZYD), as a traditional Chinese compound recipe, has been used to treat atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) for thousands of years in China, but its effective compounds and underlying treatment molecular mechanism remains promiscuous, which severely limits its clinical application.Methods: The effective components and their targets of XFZYD were predicted and screened based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. The candidate therapeutic targets of ASCVD were screened by Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses for target proteins were performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) database. Differentially expressed genes were identified using the GEO2R online tool. Molecular docking was performed by Schrodinger software. To assess the efficacy of the prediction, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with the effective compound of XFZYD were used as the in vitro model.Results: A total of 108 effective compounds (including quercetin) and 137 candidate therapeutic targets were identified. Analyzing the relationships among effective compounds, candidate therapeutic targets, and signaling pathways, the therapy mechanisms of XFZYD were mainly reflected in the protection of vascular endothelium, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant stress, etc. Accordingly, we found the effective compound of XFZYD (quercetin) decreased intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) expressions and pro-inflammatory cytokines in HUVECs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and reduced the adhesion function of HUVECs with monocytes. The inhibitor of the predicted target protein (PTGS2) could further reduce the expressions of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and TNF-α induced by LPS, and inhibit the adhesion function of HUVECs with monocytes, while PTGS2 agonists partially counteracted the protective effect of quercetin.Conclusions: In this study, the effective components and potential therapeutic targets of XFZYD for ASCVD treatment were explored from the perspective of systemic pharmacology. The effective component quercetin was verified to protect endothelial cells by reducing endothelial inflammatory response and impeding the attachment of monocytes against the predicted therapeutic target PTGS2.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (26) ◽  
pp. 5393-5399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronen Ben-Ami ◽  
Russell E. Lewis ◽  
Konstantinos Leventakos ◽  
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis

AbstractIn susceptible hosts, angioinvasion by Aspergillus fumigatus triggers thrombosis, hypoxia, and proinflammatory cytokine release, all of which are stimuli for angiogenesis. We sought to determine whether A fumigatus directly modulates angiogenesis. A fumigatus culture filtrates profoundly inhibited the differentiation, migration, and capillary tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. To measure angiogenesis at the site of infection, we devised an in vivo Matrigel assay in cyclophosphamide-treated BALB/c mice with cutaneous invasive aspergillosis. Angiogenesis was significantly suppressed in Matrigel plugs implanted in A fumigatus–infected mice compared with plugs from uninfected control mice. The antiangiogenic effect of A fumigatus was completely abolished by deletion of the global regulator of secondary metabolism, laeA, and to a lesser extent by deletion of gliP, which controls gliotoxin production. Moreover, pure gliotoxin potently inhibited angiogenesis in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, overexpression of multiple angiogenesis mediator–encoding genes was observed in the lungs of cortisone-treated mice during early invasive aspergillosis, whereas gene expression returned rapidly to baseline levels in cyclophosphamide/cortisone-treated mice. Taken together, these results indicate that suppression of angiogenesis by A fumigatus both in vitro and in a neutropenic mouse model is mediated through secondary metabolite production.


Author(s):  
Vahide Askari ◽  
Somayeh Shamlou ◽  
Ali Mostafaie ◽  
Sara Khaleqi

Angiogenesis has essential role in growth and metastasis of tumors. Development of therapies aimed to suppress angiogenesis using medicinal plants is one of the effective approaches for prevention/treatment of cancer. The current study was performed to investigate in vitro anti-angiogenic effect of Teucrium Polium (TP) extract and its fractions. The aerial part of Teucrium Polium was powdered and extracted with 50% ethanol. The extract was fractionated in to aqueous (AQ), n-butanol (BU), ethyl acetate (EA) and n-hexane (HE) fractions. Anti-angiogenic effect of TP was examined on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in three-dimensional collagen matrix. The endothelial cells form capillary-like branches that can be visualized using phase contrast microscope and the number of tube-like structures can be quantified as a measure of in vitro angiogenesis. Furthermore, anti-proliferative and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF )suppressive effect of TP as important factors in the process of angiogenesis were assessed using3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT)and quantitative ELISA, respectively. Based on our findings, among the TP fractions, EA fraction showed the highest inhibitory activity on angiogenesis. This fraction with IC50: 68 µg/mL, inhibited angiogenesis at 60 µg/mL. The crude extract and other fractions of TP inhibited angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner at doses higher concentrations than EA fraction, significantly.TP extract and EA fraction were able to inhibit proliferation of HUVEC and inhibited VEGF secretion in a dose dependent manner. The ethyl acetate fraction at 60 µg/ml inhibited VEGF secretion perfectly. Our data indicated that ethyl acetate fraction of Teucrium Polium could be a potential candidate for the prevention of angiogenesis in cancer and other related disorders. However, this suggestion needs more quantitative and in vivo investigations for confirmation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renpeng Zhou ◽  
Chuang Yin ◽  
Weiwei Bian ◽  
Chen Wang

Abstract Our present study is aimed to evaluate the effects of adipose-derived extracts (AT-Ex) and GDNF within the extracts on skin graft. AT-Ex was harvest from fresh human lipoaspirates with centrifugation, emulsification and lysing by cycles of freeze and thawing. Concentrations of GDNF, VEGF and bFGF were detected by ELISA. AT-Ex and anti-GDNF-antibody-coupled AT-Ex were further used to test their ability to promote tube formation using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and stimulate angiogenesis in nude skin-graft models. The results demonstrated that abundant GDNF, VEGF and bFGF were detected in AT-Ex, with GDNF displaying the highest concentration. AT-Ex significantly promoted the tube formation ability of HUVECs in vitro, with a dosage-dependent manner, while this ability was partially impaired when the anti-GDNF antibody was conjugated. In vivo, The AT-Ex treatment increased dermal thickness, augmented dermal proliferation and increased vascular density and GDNF contributed greatly to the AT-Ex effect in improvement the grafted skin condition by promoting angiogenesis in vivo. Our results suggested that critical effect of GDNF from AT-Ex on improvement skin graft condition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 709-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wonhwa Lee ◽  
Eun-Kyung Yoon ◽  
Kyung-Min Kim ◽  
Dong Ho Park ◽  
Jong-Sup Bae

Cyclopia subternata is a medicinal plant commonly used in traditional medicine to relieve pain. In this study, we investigated the antiseptic effects and underlying mechanisms of vicenin-2 and scolymoside, which are 2 active compounds from C. subternata that act against high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1)-mediated septic responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mice. The antiseptic activities of vicenin-2 and scolymoside were determined by measuring permeability, neutrophil adhesion and migration, and activation of proinflammatory proteins in HMGB1-activated HUVECs and mice. According to the results, vicenin-2 and scolymoside effectively inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced release of HMGB1, and suppressed HMGB1-mediated septic responses such as hyperpermeability, the adhesion and migration of leukocytes, and the expression of cell adhesion molecules. In addition, vicenin-2 and scolymoside suppressed the production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin 6, and activation of nuclear factor-κB and extracellular regulated kinases 1/2 by HMGB1. Collectively, these results indicate that vicenin-2 and scolymoside could be a potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of various severe vascular inflammatory diseases via inhibition of the HMGB1 signaling pathway.


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