👤 Thalia S Seeger

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of AKI. Noncoding RNAs are intricately involved in the pathophysiology of this form of AKI. Transcription of hypoxia-induced, long noncoding RNA Lentivirus-mediated overexpression, as well as antisense oligonucleotide-based silencing, modulated Show less

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is frequently caused by mutations in myosin-binding protein C3 ( MYBPC3) resulting in a premature termination codon (PTC). The underlying mechanisms of how PTC mutations in MYBPC3 lead to the onset and progression of HCM are poorly understood. This study's aim was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of HCM associated with MYBPC3 PTC mutations by utilizing human isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). Isogenic iPSC lines were generated from HCM patients harboring MYBPC3 PTC mutations (p.R943x; p.R1073P_Fsx4) using genome editing. Comprehensive phenotypic and transcriptome analyses were performed in the iPSC-CMs. We observed aberrant calcium handling properties with prolonged decay kinetics and elevated diastolic calcium levels in the absence of structural abnormalities or contracile dysfunction in HCM iPSC-CMs as compared to isogenic controls. The mRNA expression levels of MYBPC3 were significantly reduced in mutant iPSC-CMs, but the protein levels were comparable among isogenic iPSC-CMs, suggesting that haploinsufficiency of MYBPC3 does not contribute to the pathogenesis of HCM in vitro. Furthermore, truncated MYBPC3 peptides were not detected. At the molecular level, the nonsense-mediated decay pathway was activated, and a set of genes involved in major cardiac signaling pathways was dysregulated in HCM iPSC-CMs, indicating an HCM gene signature in vitro. Specific inhibition of the nonsense-mediated decay pathway in mutant iPSC-CMs resulted in reversal of the molecular phenotype and normalization of calcium-handling abnormalities. iPSC-CMs carrying MYBPC3 PTC mutations displayed aberrant calcium signaling and molecular dysregulations in the absence of significant haploinsufficiency of MYBPC3 protein. Here we provided the first evidence of the direct connection between the chronically activated nonsense-mediated decay pathway and HCM disease development. Show less

The transcription factor "nuclear factor erythroid 2" (NFE2) is overexpressed in the majority of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). In murine models, elevated NFE2 levels cause an MPN phenotype with spontaneous leukemic transformation. However, both the molecular mechanisms leading to NFE2 overexpression and its downstream targets remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that the histone demethylase Show less

This study demonstrates that significantly shortened telomeres are a hallmark of cardiomyocytes (CMs) from individuals with end-stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) as a result of heritable defects in cardiac proteins critical to contractile function. Positioned at the ends of chromosomes, telomeres are DNA repeats that serve as protective caps that shorten with each cell division, a marker of aging. CMs are a known exception in which telomeres remain relatively stable throughout life in healthy individuals. We found that, relative to healthy controls, telomeres are significantly shorter in CMs of genetic HCM and DCM patient tissues harboring pathogenic mutations: Show less

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare progressive pulmonary vascular disorder associated with vascular remodeling and right heart failure. Vascular remodeling involves numerous signaling cascades governing pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation, migration and differentiation. Glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3ß) is a serine/threonine kinase and can act as a downstream regulatory switch for numerous signaling pathways. Hence, we hypothesized that GSK3ß plays a crucial role in pulmonary vascular remodeling. All experiments were done with lung tissue or isolated PASMCs in a well-established monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH rat model. The mRNA expression of Wnt ligands (Wnt1, Wnt3a, Wnt5a), upstream Wnt signaling regulator genes (Frizzled Receptors 1, 2 and secreted Frizzled related protein sFRP-1) and canonical Wnt intracellular effectors (GSK3ß, Axin1) were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and protein levels of GSK3ß, phospho-GSK3ß (ser 9) by western blotting and localization by immunohistochemistry. The role of GSK3ß in PASMCs proliferation was assessed by overexpression of wild-type GSK3ß (WT) and constitutively active GSK3ß S9A by [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation assay. Increased levels of total and phosphorylated GSK3ß (inhibitory phosphorylation) were observed in lungs and PASMCs isolated from MCT-induced PAH rats compared to controls. Further, stimulation of MCT-PASMCs with growth factors induced GSK3ß inactivation. Most importantly, treatment with the PDGFR inhibitor, Imatinib, attenuated PDGF-BB and FCS induced GSK3ß phosphorylation. Increased expression of GSK3ß observed in lungs and PASMC isolated from MCT-induced PAH rats was confirmed to be clinically relevant as the same observation was identified in human iPAH lung explants. Overexpression of GSK3ß significantly increased MCT-PASMCs proliferation by regulating ERK phosphorylation. Constitutive activation of GSK3ß (GSK3ß S9A, 9th serine replaced to alanine) inhibited MCT-PASMCs proliferation by decreasing ERK phosphorylation. This study supports a central role for GSK3ß in vascular remodeling processes and suggests a novel therapeutic opportunity for the treatment of PAH. Show less