Venous Endothelial Marker COUP-TFII Regulates the Distinct Pathologic Potentials of Adult Arteries and Veins.

ABSTRACT: Arteries and veins have very different susceptibility to certain vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. The molecular mechanisms of these differences are not fully understood. In this study, we discovered that COUP-TFII, a transcription factor critical for establishing the venous identity during embryonic vascular development, also regulates the pathophysiological functions of adult blood vessels, especially those directly related to vascular diseases. Specifically, we found that suppression of COUP-TFII in venous ECs switched its phenotype toward pro-atherogenic by up-regulating the expression of inflammatory genes and down-regulating anti-thrombotic genes. ECs with COUP-TFII knockdown also readily undergo endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) and s

SUBMITTER: Cui X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633649 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature