Biology subjects

Clift, C. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Clift, C. L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Sexual Dimorphism of Plasma and Tissue Proteomes in Human Calcific Aortic Valve Stenosis Pathogenesis

BACKGROUNDCalcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS) is a global clinical burden, impacting around 2% of the population over 65 years of age. No pharmacotherapeutics exist, with surgical repair and transcatheter valve replacement being the only intervention. Females are underrepresented in studies of CAVS, leading to delay in timely intervention and increased mortality. Histopathology demonstrates female CAVS presents with decreased valvular calcification but increased fibrosis and severity of symptoms. We hypothesize that the underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to disease progression and fibrocalcific burden in AS differs between male and female patients. Our goal for this study is to use previously acquired proteomic datasets of a clinically-defined human AS cohort to examine sex disparities and underlying sex-specific disease signatures. METHODS and RESULTSAge-matched human AS tissue samples (n=4 females, n=14 males) were each segmented into non-diseased, fibrotic, and calcified disease stages and analyzed using LC-MS/MS proteomics and quantitative histopathology. CAVD plasma samples (n=20 females, n=30 males) were analyzed for circulating sex-specific biomarkers via LC-MS/MS. Unbiased principal component analysis shows sex- and stage-specific proteome clustering. AS pathogenesis drove sex-specific disparities in the valvular proteome: 338/1503 total proteins were differentially-enriched by sex across disease stages. Compared to sex-specific non-diseased controls, female fibrotic tissue resulted in 2.75-fold greater number of differentially-enriched proteins than did male fibrotic tissue (female: 42, male: 16; p<0.05 threshold). In contrast, female calcific tissue identified 2.473-fold less differentially-enriched proteins than male calcific tissue (female: 157, male 356; q<0.05 threshold). By Functional Enrichment Analysis revealed specific proteins responsible for the exacerbated valvular fibrosis signature in females, implicated adenosine phosphate metabolism as a potential male-specific driver of AS, and further reinforce the shared contribution of aberrant lipid and cholesterol activity to AS progression in both sexes. CONCLUSIONSWe reveal a sexually-dimorphic AS proteome, including the novel overabundance of ECM remodeling pathways in female calcified aortic valve tissues. This analysis allows for identification of potential sex-specific protein drug targets implicated in AS pathobiology.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2023

Intracellular Proteomics and Extracellular Vesiculomics as a Metric of Disease Recapitulation in 3D Bioprinted Aortic Valve Arrays

In calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), mechanosensitive valvular cells respond to fibrosis- and calcification-induced tissue stiffening, further driving pathophysiology. No pharmacotherapeutics are available to treat CAVD, due to the lack of: 1) appropriate experimental models that recapitulate this complex environment; and 2) benchmarking novel engineered AV-model performance. We established a biomaterial-based CAVD model mimicking the biomechanics of the human AV disease-prone fibrosa layer, 3D-bioprinted into 96-well arrays. LC-MS/MS analyses probed the cellular proteome and vesiculome to compare the 3D-bioprinted model vs. traditional 2D monoculture, against human CAVD tissue. The 3D-bioprinted model highly recapitulated the CAVD cellular proteome (94% vs. 70% of 2D proteins). Integration of cellular/vesicular datasets identified known and novel proteins ubiquitous to AV calcification. This study explores how 2D vs. 3D-bioengineered systems recapitulate unique aspects of human disease, positions multi-omics as a novel technique for the evaluation of high throughput-based bioengineered model systems and potentiates future drug discovery.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2023

Endothelial cells secrete small extracellular vesicles bidirectionally containing distinct cargo to uniquely reprogram vascular cells in the circulation and vessel wall

Rationale: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain bioactive cargo including microRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins that are released by cells as a form of cell-cell communication. Endothelial cells (ECs) form the innermost lining of all blood vessels and thereby interface with cells in the circulation as well as cells residing in the vascular wall. It is unknown whether ECs have the capacity to release EVs capable of governing recipient cells within two separate compartments, and how this is affected by endothelial activation commonly seen in atheroprone regions. Objective: Given their boundary location, we propose that ECs utilize bidirectional release of distinct EV cargo in quiescent and activated states to communicate with cells within the circulation and blood vessel wall. Methods and Results: EVs were isolated from primary human aortic endothelial cells (ECs) (+/- IL-1{beta} activation), quantified, and analysed by miRNA transcriptomics and proteomics. Compared to quiescent ECs, activated ECs increased EV release, with miRNA and protein cargo that were related to atherosclerosis. RNA sequencing of EV-treated monocytes and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) revealed that EVs from activated ECs altered pathways that were pro-inflammatory and atherogenic. Apical and basolateral EV release was assessed using ECs on transwells. ECs released more EVs apically, which increased with activation. Apical and basolateral EV cargo contained distinct transcriptomes and proteomes that were altered by EC activation. Notably, basolateral EC-EVs displayed greater changes in the EV secretome, with pathways specific to atherosclerosis. In silico analysis determined that compartment-specific cargo released by the apical and basolateral surfaces of ECs can reprogram monocytes and SMCs, respectively. Conclusions: The demonstration that ECs are capable of polarized EV cargo loading and directional EV secretion reveals a novel paradigm for endothelial communication, which may ultimately enhance our ability to design endothelial-based therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis where ECs are persistently activated. Non-standard Abbreviations and Acronyms O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=128 SRC="FIGDIR/small/538787v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (41K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@8e62dforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fd4adeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@3e4433org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1efa1a2_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG Graphical abstract: Polarized endothelial extracellular vesicle communication with luminal and abluminal vascular cellsEndothelial cell small extracellular vesicle (EC-EV) release from apical (luminal) and basolateral (abluminal) surfaces in quiescence and after endothelial activation. Quiescent EC-EVs are depicted in blue (bright blue=apical, light blue=basolateral), while activated EC-EVs are depicted in red (bright red=apical, light red=basolateral). Luminal monocyte is represented in purple with upregulation of pro-inflammatory transcripts (bright purple) after uptake of activated EC-EVs from the apical surface, compared to uptake of quiescent apical EC-EVs (light purple). Basolateral EC-EVs are taken up by an abluminal resident smooth muscle cell depicted in yellow. Smooth muscle cell uptake of activated basolateral EC-EVs with upregulation of pro-inflammatory/pro-atherogenic transcripts (bright yellow), as compared to uptake of quiescent EC-EVs (light yellow).

cell biology↗