Project description:Vascular remodeling is the process of structural alteration and cell rearrangement of blood vessels in response to injury and is the cause of many of the world's most afflicted cardiovascular conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH). Many studies have focused on the effects of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells(SMCs) during vascular remodeling, but pericytes, an indispensable cell population residing largely in capillaries, are ignored in this maladaptive process. Here we report that hypoxia-inducible factor 2α(HIF2α) expression is increased in human PAH patient lung tissues and HIF2α overexpressed pericytes result in greater contractility and an impaired endothelial-pericyte interaction. Using single-cell RNAseq and hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension(PH) models, we show HIF2α as a major molecular regulator for pericytes’ transformation into SMC-like cells. HIF2α overexpression in pericyte-selective mice exacerbate PH and right ventricular hypertrophy. Temporal cellular lineage tracing shows that HIF2α overexpressing reporter NG2+ cells (pericyte-selective) relocate from capillaries to arterioles and co-express SMA. This novel insight into the potential role of NG2+ pericytes in pulmonary vascular remodeling via HIF2α signaling suggests a potential drug target for PH.
Project description:Using a combination of single-cell RNAseq methods and murine pulmonary hypertension models, we show HIF2α overexpressing pericytes’ transformation into SMC-like cells, confirming HIF2α as a major molecular regulator in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) and vascular remodeling. We demonstrate that HIF2α overexpression in pericyte-dominant transgenic mice exacerbates PH and right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH), whereas disruption of HIF2α expression attenuates the development of PH.
Project description:Vascular remodeling is the process of structural alteration and cell rearrangement of blood vessels in response to injury and is the cause of many of the world's most afflicted cardiovascular conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Many studies have focused on the effects of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) during vascular remodeling, but pericytes, an indispensable cell population residing largely in capillaries, are ignored in this maladaptive process. Here, we report that hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α) expression is increased in the lung tissues of PAH patients, and HIF2α overexpressed pericytes result in greater contractility and an impaired endothelial-pericyte interaction. Using single-cell RNAseq and hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) models, we show that HIF2α is a major molecular regulator for the transformation of pericytes into SMC-like cells. Pericyte-selective HIF2α overexpression in mice exacerbates PH and right ventricular hypertrophy. Temporal cellular lineage tracing shows that HIF2α overexpressing reporter NG2+ cells (pericyte-selective) relocate from capillaries to arterioles and co-express SMA. This novel insight into the crucial role of NG2+ pericytes in pulmonary vascular remodeling via HIF2α signaling suggests a potential drug target for PH.
Project description:Pericytes/vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), regulated by platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) signaling, play important roles in endothelial survival and vascular stability. Here we report that treatment with imatinib, an inhibitor of PDGFRβ, led to significant tumor growth impairment associated with increased apoptosis in human lymphoma xenografts including Farage, Karpas422 and OCI-Ly7 in SCID mice. Confocal analysis of the tumor tissue showed decreased microvessel density, decreased vascular flow, and increased vascular leak in the imatinib-treated cohorts. Imatinib targeted tumor-associated PDGFRβ+ pericytes in vivo by inducing apoptosis and disruption of the PDGFRβ+ perivascular network, and PDGFRβ+ VSMC in vitro by inhibition of proliferation. FACS analysis of mononuclear cell suspension of tumor tissues revealed decreased mature pericytes and endothelial cells, as well as their progenitors with imatinib treatment. Compared to imatinib, treatment with anti-PDGFRβ monoclonal antibody partially inhibited the growth of Farage lymphomas. Lastly, microarray analysis of differentially expressed genes in PDGFRβ+ VSMC following imatinib treatment showed significant down-regulation of genes implicated in proliferation, survival and angiogenesis, including those within PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK1/2 pathways downstream of PDGFRβ signaling. Taken together, targeting PDGFRβ+ pericytes in lymphoma presents a novel and complementary target to endothelial cells for efficacious antiangiogenic therapy. PDGFRb+ murine vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were treated in 10 uM imatinib for 24 or 48 hours. Gene expression changes in response to imatinib treatment were examined using NimbleGen MM8_60mer gene expression microarrays by comparing expression patterns at 24- and 48-hours treatment to the baseline level (0 hours).
Project description:Circadian disruption enhances cancer risk, and many tumors exhibit disordered circadian gene expression. We show rhythmic gene expression is unexpectedly robust in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Furthermore, the clock gene BMAL1 is higher in ccRCC than in healthy kidneys, unlike in other tumor types. BMAL1 is closely related to ARNT and we show that BMAL1-HIF2α regulates a subset of HIF2α target genes in ccRCC cells. Depletion of BMAL1 reprograms HIF2α chromatin association and target gene expression and reduces ccRCC growth in culture and in xenografts. Analysis of pre-existing data reveals higher BMAL1 in patient-derived xenografts that are sensitive to growth suppression by HIF2α antagonists. We show that increasing BMAL1 sensitizes ccRCC-derived A498 cells to growth inhibition by PT2399. Together, these findings indicate that an alternate HIF2α heterodimer containing the circadian partner BMAL1 contributes to HIF2α activity, growth, and sensitivity to HIF2α antagonist drugs in ccRCC cells.