[HTML][HTML] Novel knowledge-based transcriptomic profiling of lipid lysophosphatidylinositol-induced endothelial cell activation

K Xu, Y Shao, F Saaoud, A Gillespie… - Frontiers in …, 2021 - frontiersin.org
K Xu, Y Shao, F Saaoud, A Gillespie, C Drummer IV, L Liu, Y Lu, Y Sun, H Xi, Ç Tükel
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2021frontiersin.org
To determine whether proinflammatory lipids lysophosphatidylinositols (LPIs) upregulate the
expressions of membrane proteins for adhesion/signaling and secretory proteins in human
aortic endothelial cell (HAEC) activation, we developed an EC biology knowledge-based
transcriptomic formula to profile RNA-Seq data panoramically. We made the following
primary findings: first, G protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), the LPIs receptor, is
expressed on the endothelium of both human and mouse aorta and is significantly …
To determine whether proinflammatory lipids lysophosphatidylinositols (LPIs) upregulate the expressions of membrane proteins for adhesion/signaling and secretory proteins in human aortic endothelial cell (HAEC) activation, we developed an EC biology knowledge-based transcriptomic formula to profile RNA-Seq data panoramically. We made the following primary findings: first, G protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), the LPIs receptor, is expressed on the endothelium of both human and mouse aorta and is significantly upregulated in hyperlipidemia; second, LPIs upregulate 43 clusters of differentiation (CD) in HAECs, promoting EC activation, innate immune trans-differentiation, and immune/inflammatory responses; 72.1% of LPIs-upregulated CDs are not induced in influenza virus-, MERS-CoV virus- and herpes virus-infected human endothelial cells, which hinted the specificity of LPIs in HAEC activation; third, LPIs upregulate six types of 640-secretomic genes (SGs), including 216 canonical SGs, 60 caspase-1-gasdermin D (GSDMD) SGs, 117 caspase-4/11-GSDMD SGs, 40 exosome SGs, 179 Human Protein Atlas (HPA)-cytokines, and 28 HPA-chemokines, which makes HAECs as a large secretory organ for inflammation/immune responses and other functions; fourth, LPIs activate transcriptomic remodeling by upregulating 172 transcription factors (TF), including proinflammatory factors: NR4A3, FOS, KLF3, and HIF1A; fifth, LPIs upregulate 152 nuclear DNA-encoded mitochondrial genes (MitoCarta), which alters mitochondrial mechanisms and functions, including mitochondrial organization, respiration, translation, and transport; sixth, LPIs activate reactive oxygen species (ROS) mechanism by upregulating 18 ROS regulators; finally utilizing Cytoscape software, we found that three mechanisms such as LPIs-upregulated TFs, mitoCarta genes, and ROS regulators are integrated to promote HAEC activation. Our results provide novel insights into aortic EC activation, formulate an EC biology knowledge-based transcriptomic profile strategy, and identify new targets for the development of therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory conditions, immune diseases, organ transplantation, aging, and cancers.
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