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7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Human iPSC-EV-loaded nanofiber stent coatings accelerate vascular repair by enhancing EGFR/HIF-1α signaling and suppressing ROCK1-mediated remodeling.

Arterial disease management is shifting from antiproliferative drug-eluting stents toward approaches that restore endothelial function and modulate smooth muscle cell (SMC) behavior. Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry miRNAs that promote endothelial proliferation and migration while restraining aberrant SMC growth and inflammation. Here, human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived EVs were collected by ultracentrifugation and incorporated into 50:50 poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA 503) core-shell nanofibrous membranes, which were fabricated as stent coatings for sustained release to overcome rapid clearance and poor tissue retention. EVs derived from three independent iPSC lines all enhanced tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under hypoxic and serum-starved conditions and revealed a trend toward reduced platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-induced smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration. The fabricated core-shell nanofibers enabled sustained EV release, maintaining therapeutic efficacy for 28 days. Small RNA sequencing (NGS) analysis demonstrated that EVs from these independent iPSC lines shared miR-148a-3p and members of the miR-92 family, which collectively accounted for more than 75% of the reads within the 25 top-expressed miRNA set. In vitro, iPSC-EVs enhanced HUVEC proliferation and survival signaling by downregulating the negative regulators ERRFI1 and VHL, which are specific targets of miR-148a-3p and the miR-92 family, thereby activating the EGFR and HIF-1α axes and driving downstream ERK1/2 and VEGF expression under hypoxic and serum starvation stress conditions. Concurrently, iPSC-EVs prevented PDGF-BB-induced SMC phenotypic switching by downregulating ROCK1, a target of miR-148a-3p, thereby inhibiting downstream AKT and ERK signaling and preserving contractile markers while suppressing the synthetic phenotype. In vivo, the iPSC-EV-functionalized scaffolds significantly accelerated re-endothelialization and inhibited neointimal hyperplasia, evidenced by the upregulation of angiogenic factors (VEGF, CD31) and the concurrent suppression of pathological remodeling markers (α-SMA, MMPs) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TGF-β1). Therefore, iPSC-EVs enriched with specific miRNAs and delivered via PLGA 503 core-shell nanofibers promote endothelial repair while suppressing SMC overgrowth, providing a promising strategy for vascular healing.

Core-shell nanofibers↗
PubMed2022

WNK1-OSR1 Signaling Regulates Angiogenesis-Mediated Metastasis towards Developing a Combinatorial Anti-Cancer Strategy.

Lysine-deficient protein kinase-1 (WNK1) is critical for both embryonic angiogenesis and tumor-induced angiogenesis. However, the downstream effectors of WNK1 during these processes remain ambiguous. In this study, we identified that oxidative stress responsive 1b (osr1b) is upregulated in endothelial cells in both embryonic and tumor-induced angiogenesis in zebrafish, accompanied by downregulation of protein phosphatase 2A (pp2a) subunit ppp2r1bb. In addition, wnk1a and osr1b are upregulated in two liver cancer transgenic fish models: [tert x p53-/-] and [HBx,src,p53-/-,RPIA], while ppp2r1bb is downregulated in [tert x p53-/-]. Furthermore, using HUVEC endothelial cells co-cultured with HepG2 hepatoma cells, we confirmed that WNK1 plays a critical role in the induction of hepatoma cell migration in both endothelial cells and hepatoma cells. Moreover, overexpression of OSR1 can rescue the reduced cell migration caused by shWNK1 knockdown in HUVEC cells, indicating OSR1 is downstream of WNK1 in endothelial cells promoting hepatoma cell migration. Overexpression of PPP2R1A can rescue the increased cell migration caused by WNK1 overexpression in HepG2, indicating that PPP2R1A is a downstream effector in hepatoma. The combinatorial treatment with WNK1 inhibitor (WNK463) and OSR1 inhibitor (Rafoxanide) plus oligo-fucoidan via oral gavage to feed [HBx,src,p53-/-,RPIA] transgenic fish exhibits much more significant anticancer efficacy than Regorafenib for advanced HCC. Importantly, oligo-fucoidan can reduce the cell senescence marker-IL-1β expression. Furthermore, oligo-fucoidan reduces the increased cell senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity in tert transgenic fish treated with WNK1-OSR1 inhibitors. Our results reveal the WNK1-OSR1-PPP2R1A axis plays a critical role in both endothelial and hepatoma cells during tumor-induced angiogenesis promoting cancer cell migration. By in vitro and in vivo experiments, we further uncover the molecular mechanisms of WNK1 and its downstream effectors during tumor-induced angiogenesis. Targeting WNK1-OSR1-mediated anti-angiogenesis and anti-cancer activity, the undesired inflammation response caused by inhibiting WNK1-OSR1 can be attenuated by the combination therapy with oligo-fucoidan and may improve the efficacy.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Hypoxia reprograms VEGF signaling to differentially control ADAMTS2 and ADAMTS3 expression in endothelial cells.

ADAMTS2/-3, key metalloproteinases involved in collagen processing and extracellular matrix dynamics, remain insufficiently characterized in terms of their transcriptional regulation under hypoxic and pro-angiogenic conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that VEGF₁₆₅ robustly enhances ADAMTS2/-3 expression in endothelial cells, with hypoxia providing a striking amplification of this response. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that hypoxia and VEGF induced HIF-mediated and time-varying expression responses in ADAMTS2/-3. Using HUVECs exposed to CoCl₂-induced hypoxia, VEGF stimulation led to substantial increases in ADAMTS2 (approximately 19-fold at 3 h) and ADAMTS3 (approximately 46-fold at 3 h) mRNA levels, accompanied by concordant protein upregulation. Promoter-reporter assays revealed strong VEGF responsiveness in defined ADAMTS2 (-658/+112) and ADAMTS3 (-131/+40; -1340/+40) promoter fragments, particularly under hypoxic conditions. Pharmacological inhibition showed that JNK, MAPK/ERK, p38, and PI3K pathways each contributed partially to VEGF-mediated transcription, indicating multi-pathway convergence rather than single-pathway dependency. This finding is consistent with RNA-seq analyses showing that VEGF-related signaling is extensively re-regulated under hypoxic conditions. Extension of these analyses to MG-63 and SAOS-2 cell lines revealed modest but consistent VEGF-induced upregulation, supporting a tissue-independent regulatory axis. Collectively, these findings position ADAMTS2/-3 as potent hypoxia- and VEGF-responsive genes, uncovering their integration into HIF-1α-dependent transcriptional networks and VEGF-activated signaling cascades. This work highlights the relevance of ADAMTS2/-3 in angiogenesis-associated extracellular matrix remodeling and identifies them as promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in hypoxia-driven vascular pathology.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Unraveling causal links between chronic rhinosinusitis and peripheral artery diseases: insights from genetic correlations through genome-wide association studies.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) shares epidemiological links with Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), however, their shared genetic basis remains unclear. We hypothesized that pleiotropic genetic variants underlie CRS-CVDs links via distinct biological pathways. METHODS: Using large-scale GWAS data from European-ancestry individuals, we assessed global and local genetic correlations. We applied Genomic Structural Equation Modeling (Genomic SEM) to dissect shared genetic architecture, performed bidirectional Mendelian Randomization (MR) to infer causality, and conducted cis-eQTL colocalization to identify shared genetic signals. Finally, in vitro endothelial models (HUVECs) validated the functional dynamics of candidate genes under CRS-mimicking inflammatory stress. RESULTS: CRS showed significant genetic correlations with multiple CVDs. Genomic SEM revealed a latent factor structuring shared genetic risk through three pathways: artery diseases, myocardial diseases, and heart failure. Local genetic correlations identified significant local genetic correlations specifically between CRS and Peripheral Atherosclerosis (PAS)/Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) specifically within the chr6: 31.57&#x2012;33.24 Mb locus. MR demonstrated causal effects of CRS on PAD (OR&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.23, p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.022) and PAS (OR&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.21, p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.011), but not vice versa. Genetically predicted HLA-DRB1, APOM, and COL11A2 expression conferred protection, while HLA-DQA2 increased risk. Crucially, in vitro validation corroborated these pathogenic trajectories, inflammatory stress significantly downregulated the protective APOM and upregulated the risk-associated HLA-DQA2 alongside pro-atherogenic VCAM-1, while HLA-DRB1 exhibited a compensatory upregulation (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05). CONCLUSION: CRS shares global genetic liability with CVDs, structured through three primary etiological pathways. Causal effects of CRS on peripheral artery diseases are mediated by immune and lipid-related genes within the chr6 locus, revealing divergent pleiotropic mechanisms. Our integrated genetic and in vitro evidence provides a mechanistic framework wherein chronic mucosal inflammation contributes to systemic endothelial vulnerability, thereby highlighting candidate targets for mechanism-directed therapy.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Interrogation of functional variants in COPD GWAS loci by massively parallel reporter assays.

RATIONALE: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) loci often contain many linked variants, making it difficult to determine which variant is functionally relevant. Massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) allow experimental testing of candidate variants to identify those with regulatory activity. Prior chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) MPRA studies have largely focused on individual loci, whereas broader multi-locus, multi-cell-type interrogation remains limited. OBJECTIVES: We aim to identify functional variants in five COPD GWAS loci across three lung-relevant cell types. METHODS: We screened 1120 variants using MPRA in epithelial (16HBE), fibroblast (MRC5), and endothelial (HUVEC) cells followed by reporter assay validation. Public Hi-C, ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq datasets were analyzed to evaluate chromatin context near candidate variants. We further performed CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) targeting variant-containing regions and measured gene expression by RT-qPCR in primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells using two gRNAs per variant. Co-immunoprecipitation was performed to test interaction between selected candidate genes. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In MPRA, we identified 25 variants with allele-specific effects (&#x223c;2% of tested variants). Enrichment of H3K27Ac and open chromatin near rs35421223 was detected in 16HBE cells. CRISPRi identified two SNP-gene pairs, RUVBL1 and RAB7A regulated by rs35421223 in both the 16HBE cell line and primary NHBE cells. We detected interaction between RUVBL1 and the known COPD gene product FAM13A. CONCLUSIONS: Screening COPD loci across three cell types identified functional regulatory variants and linked them to candidate target genes for future mechanistic studies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2026

A 3D in vitro co-culture model to investigate tumor-endothelial interactions in Neurofibromatosis type 2-associated meningiomas.

BACKGROUND: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2)-associated meningiomas and schwannomas are vascular tumors, and while vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibition with bevacizumab has benefited some NF2-related schwannomas, most NF2-associated meningiomas remain nonresponsive. METHODS: Leveraging our transcriptomic data, we performed Gene Ontology (GO) analysis comparing NF2-deficient meningioma cells with NF2-expressing arachnoid cells (ACs). We then established a 3D in vitro angiogenesis model by co-culturing NF2-null meningioma cells with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Endothelial sprouting was assessed by CD31/PECAM immunostaining. Effects of third-generation mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-selective inhibitor RMC-6272 as well as APLN knock-out using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing were also examined. RESULTS: GO analysis identified vascular development among the top significantly upregulated pathways in NF2-deficient cells. In 3D co-culture, ECs formed radially sprouting tube-like networks from the spheroid surface, and our data supports an angiogenesis phenotype driven by meningioma cells. Given these results along with hyperactivation of mTORC1 upon NF2-deficiency, we examined whether RMC-6272 disrupts meningioma-driven angiogenesis. RMC-6272 potently suppressed EC sprouting. Cross-referencing baseline transcriptomic data, we identified Apelin (APLN), the ligand for APLN receptor (APLNR), as a basally upregulated angiogenic factor in NF2-deficient meningiomas. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed increased APLN expression in NF2-null immortalized and patient-derived meningioma lines, with reduced expression upon mTORC1 inhibition. Apelin-13 stimulation enhanced sprouting, whereas APLN deletion reduced endothelial sprouting. CONCLUSIONS: Here we establish a 3D-tumoroid model and implicate tumor-derived Apelin as an important contributor to NF2-associated meningioma angiogenesis. Our data also suggest that APLN expression is regulated, at least in part, by mTORC1. Together, these results provide a preclinical platform for investigating angiogenic vulnerabilities beyond VEGF in NF2-deficient meningiomas.

3D tumoroid model↗
PubMed2026

Reduced R-loop abundance at proinflammatory loci: a shared epigenetic mechanism in inflammatory and metabolic diseases.

INTRODUCTION: R-loops, RNA-DNA hybrid structures with a displaced single-stranded DNA loop, are key regulators of transcriptional control, chromatin architecture, and genome stability and have emerging roles in inflammatory signaling. However, the relationship between R-loop abundance and strongly modulated inflammatory effector genes in metabolic inflammation and influenza virus infection remains underexplored. METHODS: We performed a locus-centric integrative analysis combining robust differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from multiple inflammatory and infection-related murine and human transcriptomic disease models with experimentally validated multi-cell R-loop annotations from the reference atlas RLoopBase. Our correlation framework evaluated the directional relationship between R-loop abundance and inflammatory gene expression rather than assuming disease-sample-matched R-loop measurements. We further analyzed R-loop regulatory proteins, NRF2-associated R-loop regulators, and overlaps between R-loop regulators and CRISPRi-identified mitochondrial and cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulators. RESULTS: In angiotensin II-infused apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice, a model of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), genomic regions encoding the top significantly upregulated genes exhibited significantly fewer R-loops than those encoding downregulated genes at days 14 and 28. Similarly, in atherosclerotic ApoE-/- mice fed a high-fat diet for 32 and 78 weeks, upregulated genes were associated with fewer R-loops than downregulated genes. Reduced R-loop abundance was also observed in genomic regions encoding the top significantly upregulated genes in liver tissues from patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as in monosodium urate (MSU)-stimulated lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and influenza virus-infected human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). R-loop regulatory proteins upregulated during metabolic inflammation were enriched in immune and inflammatory pathways. NRF2 was identified as a regulator of 27 R-loop regulatory proteins, including 10 positively and 17 negatively regulated proteins. Furthermore, 54 R-loop regulatory proteins overlapped with CRISPRi-identified mitochondrial and cellular ROS regulators, suggesting potential reciprocal regulation between R-loop homeostasis and ROS signaling. Disease-associated changes in pro-ROS and anti-ROS R-loop regulatory proteins further linked R-loop regulation to inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways. DISCUSSION: These findings identify reduced R-loop abundance at genomic regions encoding strongly upregulated inflammatory genes as a shared feature across multiple models of metabolic inflammation and influenza virus infection. The results further suggest that immune-associated R-loop regulatory proteins and the NRF2-ROS axis may contribute to R-loop remodeling during inflammatory disease. This integrative framework provides new insight into the potential role of R-loops and ROS-sensitive R-loop regulators in inflammatory and metabolic diseases and identifies candidate pathways for future mechanistic investigation and therapeutic targeting.

R-loop regulatory proteins↗