Project description:The hallmark of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is fibrotic transformation of pulmonary arterial thrombus, leading to mechanical obstruction of pulmonary arteries. We report the transcriptome profile of fibroblasts isolated from pairs of CTEPH thrombus and pulmonary artery adventitia of the same patient. Fibroblasts isolated from CTEPH thrombus demonstrated upregulation of genes associated with the TGF-β pathway indicating that TGF-β upregulation is associated with the intravascular remodeling process.
Project description:The molecular mechanisms of progressive right heart failure are incompletely understood. We systematically examined transcriptomic changes occurring over months in isolated cardiomyocytes or whole heart tissues from failing right and left ventricles in rat models of pulmonary artery (PAB) or aortic banding (AOB). Detailed bioinformatics analyses resulted in the identification of gene signatures, protein, and transcription factor networks specific to ventricles and compensated or decompensated disease states. Proteomic and RNA-FISH analyses confirmed PAB-mediated regulation of key genes (including proenkephalin) and revealed spatially heterogeneous mRNA expression in the heart. Intersection of rat PAB-specific gene sets with transcriptome data sets from human patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension led to the identification of more than 50 genes whose expression levels correlated with the severity of right heart disease, including multiple matrix-regulating and secreted factors. These data define a conserved, differentially regulated genetic network associated with right heart failure in rats and humans
Project description:The present prospective study included a total number of 3 patients with a final diagnosis of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), who were treated by pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) at the Kerckhoff Heart and Thorax Center between 2016 and 2020. Biopsies of the myocardial interventricular septum from 3 patients were collected at baseline (BL) before PEA surgery (pre-septal-PEA) In this case, to account for technical and safety aspects, the specimens were taken from the myocardial interventricular septum. The aim of the Study was a comparative characterization of RNA-profiles of septum in CTEPH patients after PEA surgery (postPEA) compared to before PEA surgery (pre-septal-PEA).
Project description:The aim of this study was to determine whether extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) have potential as biomarkers for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). EVs were isolated using different methods from serum of 23 CTEPH patients and 23 controls. EV-associated RNAs were analysed by next-generation sequencing using the TrueQuant method for molecular barcoding, and differentially expressed sncRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR. We identified 18 miRNAs and 21 piRNAs or piRNA clusters that were differentially expressed in CTEPH patients compared with the control group. Bioinformatic analysis predicted a contribution of these piRNAs to the progression of cardiac and vascular remodelling. Furthermore, the expression levels of DQ593039 correlated with clinically meaningful parameters such as mean pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, right ventricular systolic pressure, and levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. In summary, EV-associated piRNA DQ593039 shows promise as biomarker and may be a potential therapeutic target for CTEPH.
