Endothelial TGFβ signaling regulates choroidal neovascularization severity via myeloid–endothelial interaction
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE318434 | GEO | 2026/07/15
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:In mice, postnatal endothelial cell (EC)-specific knockout of the genes coding for Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Receptor (TGFBR)1 and/or TGFBR2 eliminates TGF-beta signaling in vascular ECs and leads to distinctive central nervous system (CNS) vascular phenotypes. Knockout mice exhibit (1) reduced,intra-retinal vascularization, (2) choroidal neovascularization with occasional anastomoses connecting choroidal and intraretinal vasculatures, (3) infiltration of diverse immune cells into the retina, including macrophages, T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells, (4) a close physical association between immune cells and retinal vasculature, (5) a pro-inflammatory transcriptional state in CNS ECs, with increased ICAM1 immunoreactivity, and (6) increased Smooth Muscle Actin immunostaining in CNS pericytes. Comparisons of the retinal phenotype with two other genetic models of retinal hypovascularization – loss of Norrin/Fzd4 signaling and loss of VEGF signaling – shows that the immune cell infiltrate is greatest with loss of TGF-beta signaling, more modest with loss of Norrin/Fzd4 signaling, and undetectable with loss of VEGF signaling. The phenotypes caused by loss of TGF-beta signaling in ECs recapitulate some of the cardinal features of retinal and neurologic diseases associated with vascular inflammation. These observations suggest that therapies that promote TGF-beta-dependent anti-inflammatory responses in ECs could represent a promising strategy for disease modulation.
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Project description:Angiogenesis is a dynamic process fine-tuned by transcription factors in endothelial cells. The Krüpple-like factor 15 (KLF15)-mediated transcriptional regulation mechanism is critical for cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of endothelial KLF15 in governing angiogenesis remains unknown.KLF15 and vasorin (VASN) were deleted from endothelial cells using tamoxifen-inducible Cdh5-promoter-driven Cre recombinase in EC-KLF15 KO and EC-VASN KO mice, respectively. EC-KLF15 KO, EC-VASN KO and control mice were subjected to retinal angiogenesis or tumor cell transplantation. The RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), ATAC-seq, and ChIP-seq were conducted to identify VASN as a downstream effector of KLF15. Cell proliferation, wound healing, tube formation, and sprouting assays were performed to delineate endothelial cell function. In EC-KLF15 KO mice and adenovirus-mediated KLF15 overexpression mice, we showed that KLF15 negatively regulated retinal angiogenesis, as confirmed in cultured endothelial cells. KLF15 opened chromatin, bound to the promoters of GC-rich sequences, and transactivated the expression of VASN. Subsequently, VASN suppressed endothelial angiogenic function which was essential for Dll4-induced Notch1 signaling activation. Moreover, increased expression of VASN in EC-KLF15 KO mice suppressed retinal angiogenesis, which was attenuated by γ-secretase inhibitor. EC-VASN KO mice recapitulated the promotion of retinal angiogenesis in EC-KLF15 KO mice. Finally, the EGF-like domain of VASN was essential for its interaction with Notch1, and VASN EGF-like domain-derived peptides activated Notch1 signaling and suppressed angiogenesis.The KLF15/VASN axis negatively regulates angiogenesis by activating Notch1 signaling. KLF15 and VASN in endothelial cells might represent novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of impaired angiogenesis-related diseases and tumors.
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Project description:We investigate the MED1/KLF4 co-regulation of the BMP/TGF-beta axes in endothelium by studying the epigenetic regulation of BMP receptor type II (BMPR2), ETS-related gene (ERG), and TGF-beta receptor 2 (TGFBR2) and their involvement in the PH. High throughput screening involving data from RNA-seq, MED1 ChIP-seq, H3K27ac ChIP-seq, KLF4 ATAC-seq, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (HiC) together with in silico computations were used to explore the epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of BMPR2, ERG, and TGFBR2 by MED1 and KLF4. In vitro experiments with cultured pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) and bulk assays were used to validate results from these in silico analyses. Lung tissue from patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), animals with experimental PH, and mice with endothelial ablation of MED1 (EC-MED1-/-) were used to study the PH-protective effect of MED1. Levels of MED1 were decreased in lung tissue or PAECs from IPAH patients and rodent PH models. Mechanistically, MED1 acted synergistically with KLF4 to transactivate BMPR2, ERG, and TGFBR2 via chromatin remodeling and enhancer-promoter interactions. EC-MED1-/- mice showed PH susceptibility. In contrast, MED1 overexpression mitigated the PH phenotype in rodents. A homeostatic regulation of BMPR2, ERG, and TGFBR2 in ECs by MED1 synergistic with KLF4 is essential for the normal function of the pulmonary endothelium. Dysregulation of MED1 and the resulting impairment of the BMP/TGF- signaling is implicated in the disease progression of PAH in humans and PH in rodent models.
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Project description:Although mitochondrial activity is critical for angiogenesis, its mechanism is not entirely clear. Here, we investigate the angiogenic functions of three separate nuclear genes that encode for mitochondrial proteins, including mitochondrial transcriptional factor (TFAM), respiratory complex IV component (COX10), and a mitochondrial redox protein thioredoxin 2 (TRX2), which are responsible for distinct mitochondrial functions. We aim to investigate if mitochondrial activities regulate common endothelial cell (EC) signaling pathways during angiogenesis. The silencing of Tfam, Cox10, or Trx2 in an in vitro 3D sprouting assay attenuates EC sprouting, which correlated with reduced EC proliferation but not with ROS generation or EC apoptosis. Mice with an inducible deletion of Tfam, Cox10, or Trx2 exhibit retarded retinal vessel growth without penetration into the deep plexi at early ages (P5-P12). The three mutant mice develop arteriovenous malformations (AVM) with microaneurysm formation in the microvessels at advanced ages (P12-P30); the hypovasculature and microaneurysm phenotypes resemble that of aged human retinas and human primitive retinal vascular abnormalities such as Coats’ disease, Leber’s military aneurysms and familial exudative vitreoretinopathy. Single-cell RNA-seq analyses of retinal ECs suggest that the three mutant mice have common EC clusters with reduced gene expressions in anion transporters, actin organization, extracellular matrix, and angiogenesis. These EC clusters also have increased gene expressions in endothelial-mesenchymal transition and arterial markers, correlating with enhanced TGFbR signaling in Tfam, Cox10, or Trx2-deficient mice. Importantly, pharmacological blockade by TGFbR inhibitors attenuated retinal vessel growth retardation and AVM formation in all three mutant mice. Our study demonstrates that mitochondrial dysfunction induces TGF-b receptor-mediated arteriovenous malformations and microaneurysm formation in mouse retinas, and provide a novel model and therapeutic intervention for human primitive retinal vascular abnormalities, which are characterized by retinal vascular malformations and are associated with many pathological complications such as diabetes and hypertension that can result in vision loss.
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2020-08-28 | E-MTAB-5087 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the working-age population, is an inflammatory, neuro-vascular complication of diabetes with poorly understood mechanism. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays crucial roles in biological and pathological events, while its role in DR remain elusive. Herein, we identified the pathological involvement of m6A demethylase FTO in DR. FTO expression was elevated in proliferative membranes of DR patients, endothelial cells (EC) under diabetic stress, and retinal vessels of diabetic murine models. FTO overexpression in EC promoted EC cycle progression and tip cell formation to facilitate angiogenesis in vitro, in mice and in zebrafish. FTO also regulated EC-pericyte crosstalk to trigger diabetes-induced microvascular leakage, and mediated EC-microglia crosstalk to induce retinal inflammation and subsequent neurodegeneration in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, FTO regulated EC features depending on its demethylation activity via modulating CDK2 mRNA stability with YTHDF2 as the reader. Moreover, FTO up-regulation in EC under diabetic conditions was driven by lactic acid mediated histone lactylation. FB23-2, which inhibits FTO’s m6A demethylase activity, suppressed diabetes associated endothelial phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Noteworthy, we developed a novel macrophage membrane coated and PLGA-Dil based nanoplatform encapsulating FB23-2 for systemic administration, and confirmed its targeting and therapeutic efficacy in mice. Collectively, our study demonstrated an FTO-mediated regulatory network that coordinates EC biology and retinal homeostasis in DR, providing a promising nanotherapeutic approach for DR treatment. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the working-age population, is an inflammatory, neuro-vascular complication of diabetes with poorly understood mechanism. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays crucial roles in biological and pathological events, while its role in DR remain elusive. Herein, we identified the pathological involvement of m6A demethylase FTO in DR. FTO expression was elevated in proliferative membranes of DR patients, endothelial cells (EC) under diabetic stress, and retinal vessels of diabetic murine models. FTO overexpression in EC promoted EC cycle progression and tip cell formation to facilitate angiogenesis in vitro, in mice and in zebrafish. FTO also regulated EC-pericyte crosstalk to trigger diabetes-induced microvascular leakage, and mediated EC-microglia crosstalk to induce retinal inflammation and subsequent neurodegeneration in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, FTO regulated EC features depending on its demethylation activity via modulating CDK2 mRNA stability with YTHDF2 as the reader. Moreover, FTO up-regulation in EC under diabetic conditions was driven by lactic acid mediated histone lactylation. FB23-2, which inhibits FTO’s m6A demethylase activity, suppressed diabetes associated endothelial phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Noteworthy, we developed a novel macrophage membrane coated and PLGA-Dil based nanoplatform encapsulating FB23-2 for systemic administration, and confirmed its targeting and therapeutic efficacy in mice. Collectively, our study demonstrated an FTO-mediated regulatory network that coordinates EC biology and retinal homeostasis in DR, providing a promising nanotherapeutic approach for DR treatment.
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2014-01-01 | E-GEOD-50059 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Endothelial cell (EC) metabolism regulates angiogenesis and is an emerging target for anti-angiogenic therapy in tumor and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). In contrast to tumor ECs (TECs), CNV-ECs cannot be isolated for unbiased metabolic target discovery. Here we used scRNA-sequencing to profile 28,337 choroidal ECs (CECs) from mice to in silico distinguish healthy CECs from CNV-ECs. Trajectory inference suggested that CNV-ECs plastically upregulate genes in central carbon metabolism and collagen biosynthesis during differentiation from quiescent postcapillary venous ECs. CEC-tailored genome scale metabolic modeling predicted essentiality of SQLE and ALDH18A1 for proliferation and collagen production, respectively. Comparative analysis in TECs revealed more outspoken metabolic transcriptome heterogeneity in subtypes and consistent upregulation of SQLE and ALDH18A1 across tumor types. Inhibition of SQLE and ALDH18A1 reduced sprouting angiogenesis in vitro. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrated scRNA-seq analysis to identify angiogenic metabolic targets in disease ECs.
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