Atheroma transcriptomics identifies ARNTL as a smooth muscle cell regulator and with clinical and genetic data improves risk stratification.

Autor:	Narayanan S; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden., Vuckovic S; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden., Bergman O; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden., Wirka R; Department of Medicine and Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA., Verdezoto Mosquera J; Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA., Chen QS; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden., Baldassarre D; Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.; Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università di Milano, Milan, Italy., Tremoli E; Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Veglia F; Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Lengquist M; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden., Aherahrrou R; A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.; Institute for Cardiogenetics, Universität zu Lübeck; DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, Germany.; University Heart Centre Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany., Razuvaev A; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden., Gigante B; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden., Björck HM; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden., Miller CL; Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA., Quertermous T; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA., Hedin U; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden., Matic L; Vascular Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum J8:20, Visionsgatan 4, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	European heart journal [Eur Heart J] 2024 Nov 18. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 18.
DOI:	10.1093/eurheartj/ehae768
Abstrakt:	Background and Aims: The role of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in atherosclerosis has evolved to indicate causal genetic links with the disease. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) studies have identified multiple cell populations of mesenchymal origin within atherosclerotic lesions, including various SMC sub-phenotypes, but it is unknown how they relate to patient clinical parameters and genetics. Here, mesenchymal cell populations in atherosclerotic plaques were correlated with major coronary artery disease (CAD) genetic variants and functional analyses performed to identify SMC markers involved in the disease. Methods: Bioinformatic deconvolution was done on bulk microarrays from carotid plaques in the Biobank of Karolinska Endarterectomies (BiKE, n = 125) using public plaque scRNAseq data and associated with patient clinical data and follow-up information. BiKE patients were clustered based on the deconvoluted cell fractions. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses were performed to predict the effect of CAD associated genetic variants on mesenchymal cell fractions (cfQTLs) and gene expression (eQTLs) in plaques. Results: Lesions from symptomatic patients had higher fractions of Type 1 macrophages and pericytes, but lower fractions of classical and modulated SMCs compared with asymptomatic ones, particularly females. Presence of diabetes or statin treatment did not affect the cell fraction distribution. Clustering based on plaque cell fractions, revealed three patient groups, with relative differences in their stability profiles and associations to stroke, even during long-term follow-up. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with plaque mesenchymal cell fractions, upstream of the circadian rhythm gene ARNTL were identified. In vitro silencing of ARNTL in human carotid SMCs increased the expression of contractile markers and attenuated cell proliferation. Conclusions: This study shows the potential of combining scRNAseq data with vertically integrated clinical, genetic, and transcriptomic data from a large biobank of human plaques, for refinement of patient vulnerability and risk prediction stratification. The study revealed novel CAD-associated variants that may be functionally linked to SMCs in atherosclerotic plaques. Specifically, variants in the ARNTL gene may influence SMC ratios and function, and its role as a regulator of SMC proliferation should be further investigated. (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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