BAF60c prevents abdominal aortic aneurysm formation through epigenetic control of vascular smooth muscle cell homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening vascular disease. BAF60c, a unique subunit of the SWItch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex, is critical for cardiac and skeletal myogenesis, yet little is known about its function in the vasculature and, specifically, in AAA pathogenesis. Here, we found that BAF60c was downregulated in human and mouse AAA tissues, with primary staining to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), confirmed by single-cell RNA-sequencing. In vivo studies revealed that VSMC-specific knockout of Baf60c significantly aggravated both angiotensin II- (Ang II-) and elastase-induced AAA formation in mice, with a significant increase in elastin degradation, inflammatory cell infiltration, VSMC phenotypic switch, and apoptosis. In vitro stu

SUBMITTER: Zhao G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9621131 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature