Association of SLRPs with carotid artery atherosclerosis in essential hypertensive patients

The relationship between serum Lumican levels and myocardial fibrosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

OBJECTIVE

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young individuals. Lumican, is an indicator of fibrosis. We aimed to evaluate the relation between serum Lumican levels and presence and extent of myocardial fibrosis in HCM.

METHODS

The patients diagnosed with HCM between June 2022 and March 2023 were enrolled consecutively in this prospective study. Age and gender-matched healthy individuals formed control group. Two groups were generated according to extent of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in HCM patients.

RESULTS

A total of 114 patients were enrolled. Serum Lumican, NT-proBNP levels and maximum wall thickness were revealed as independent risk factors associated with LGE. A cut-off value of 9.06 for Lumican was associated with 67.8% sensitivity and 65.5% specificity in prediction of LGE.

CONCLUSION

Myocardial fibrosis is one of the important mechanisms in HCM pathophysiology. LGE on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging allows comprehensive evaluation of myocardial fibrosis, the support of diagnosis with a biomarker would be beneficial in clinical practice. Our study revealed that serum Lumican level is an independent predictor of severe LGE in HCM patients. Further studies with larger patient numbers may clarify the importance of Lumican in HCM pathophysiology.

Lumican Is Both a Novel Risk Factor and Potential Plasma Biomarker for Vascular Aging, Capable of Promoting Vascular Smooth Cells Senescence Through Interacting With Integrin α2β1

Vascular aging, a common pathogenesis of senile chronic diseases, significantly increases morbidity and mortality in older adults; its intricate cellular and molecular mechanisms necessitate further investigation. Lumican (LUM) and integrin α2β1 are profibrotic extracellular matrix proteins and vital cell regulatory receptors, respectively. However, their roles in vascular aging remain unclear. This study sought to elucidate the connection between LUM and vascular aging as well as the biological mechanism of LUM/integrin α2β1 in this process. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we discovered that plasma LUM was elevated in vascular aging individuals and was positively correlated with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. Additionally, immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses confirmed LUM upregulation in arteries of older adults and aged mice, as well as in senescent vascular smooth cells (VSMCs). Wild-type and LUM semiknockout (Lum-/+) mice, along with primary VSMCs extracted from these mice, were exposed to angiotensin II to induce a stress-induced senescence model. LUM semiknockout mitigated angiotensin II-induced arteriosclerosis, hypertension, vascular aging, and remodeling in mice. Both in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that LUM deficiency suppressed p53, p21, collagen 1, and collagen 3 upregulation and synthetic phenotype formation in VSMCs stimulated by angiotensin II. Treating VSMCs with an integrin α2β1 antagonist reversed the aforementioned changes triggered by LUM proteins. Briefly, LUM functions as a potential marker and risk factor for vascular aging and promotes pathological changes by affecting integrin α2β1 in VSMCs. This study introduces a novel molecular target for the early diagnosis and treatment of vascular aging and age-related vascular diseases.

Lumican, a Multifunctional Cell Instructive Biomarker Proteoglycan Has Novel Roles as a Marker of the Hypercoagulative State of Long Covid Disease

This study has reviewed the many roles of lumican as a biomarker of tissue pathology in health and disease. Lumican is a structure regulatory proteoglycan of collagen-rich tissues, with cell instructive properties through interactions with a number of cell surface receptors in tissue repair, thereby regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, inflammation and the innate and humoral immune systems to combat infection. The exponential increase in publications in the last decade dealing with lumican testify to its role as a pleiotropic biomarker regulatory protein. Recent findings show lumican has novel roles as a biomarker of the hypercoagulative state that occurs in SARS CoV-2 infections; thus, it may also prove useful in the delineation of the complex tissue changes that characterize COVID-19 disease. Lumican may be useful as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker of long COVID disease and its sequelae.

Reduced Diversities and Clonally Expanded Sequences of T-Cell Receptors in Patients With Essential Hypertension and Subclinical Carotid Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND

It has long been hypothesized that the abnormal immune responses contribute to the essential hypertension (EH) and its subclinical target organ damage (STOD). However, the mechanism is unclear. This study aimed at exploring the potential association with abnormal T-cell responses and EH, STOD, and early atherosclerosis in patients with EH.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 146 patients with EH and 73 age-matched normotensive individuals. The expressed peripheral TCR (T-cell receptor) β repertoire was analyzed by high through-put sequencing.

RESULTS

The TCRβ repertoires of the patients with EH were significantly different, with significantly elevated certain TCR beta variable (TRBV) and joint (TRBJ) gene usages, significantly reduced TCRβ diversity indexes (diversity 50s) and numbers of total TCRβ clonal types, significantly elevated percentages of the biggest TCRβ clones and numbers of clones accounting >0.1% sequences, compared with those in the normotensive controls. Decreased diversity 50s and increased biggest TCRβ clone percentages were independently correlated with carotid intima-media thickness and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) in the patients with EH. Moreover, the diversity 50s were further significantly reduced and the biggest TCRβ clone percentages were significantly increased in the patients with EH with SCA (n=89) comparing to the patients with EH/patients without SCA (n=57), and in patients with EH/SCA with carotid plaque (n=22) comparing to patients with EH/SCA/patients without carotid plaque (n=67). Importantly, specific TCRβ clones were identified in different subgroups of the patients with EH.

CONCLUSIONS

These results reveal that abnormal T-cell responses may play important roles in the progression of EH and its SCA, especially the formation of carotid plaque.

REGISTRATION

URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn; Unique identifier: ChiCTR2100054414.

Exploring the role of osteoglycin in type 2 diabetes: implications for insulin resistance and vascular pathophysiology

Osteoglycin, a fundamental proteoglycan within the vascular extracellular matrix, is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) but the role of osteoglycin in the development of CVD is controversial to date. Therefore, our aims are to determine and compare the level of osteoglycin in T2D patients with/without CVD versus control subjects both at serum and vascular tissue and to analyze in vitro role of osteoglycin in VSMCs under calcified conditions. For this, serum osteoglycin levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 117 controls and 129 patients with T2D (46 with CVD and 83 without CVD), revealing a significant increase in patients with T2D compared with controls. Osteoglycin level was not an estimator of CVD but correlated with markers of insulin resistance (triglycerides and triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol index) in patients with T2D. At the vascular level, osteoglycin expression was assessed by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry, and no significant differences were observed between calcified arteries from patients with T2D and noncalcified arteries from controls. In vitro experiments using VSMCs (mock and overexpressing osteoglycin) under calcifying conditions were performed to analyze the osteoglycin function. The overexpression of osteoglycin in VMSCs under calcifying conditions revealed an increase of cell proliferation without effect on apoptosis and an upregulation of the expression of autotaxin (ATX) involved in inflammatory processes. In conclusion, osteoglycin could play a role in glycemic homeostasis, being a potential biomarker of insulin resistance in patients with T2D. Furthermore, osteoglycin could indirectly participate in the development of atherosclerosis through its regulatory effect on ATX and by proliferating VSMCs.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study uncovers an increase of serum osteoglycin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, which does not appear to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis, but rather with insulin resistance in this population. Overexpression of osteoglycin increased proliferation and upregulated the expression of autotaxin in vascular smooth muscle cells within calcified environments. Osteoglycin could be a biomarker of insulin resistance for type 2 diabetes and could be indirectly involved in the development of atherosclerosis.

Additional Acupuncture Confers a Favorable Long-Term Prognosis for Elderly Hypertensive Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis after Atorvastatin Treatment

Objective

The purpose of the study is to investigate the clinical efficacy and long-term prognosis of acupuncture (AP) combined with atorvastatin (ATO) in treating senile essential hypertension (EH) complicated with carotid atherosclerosis (CA).

Methods

108 elderly EH patients with CA admitted to our hospital between January 2018 and September 2018 were enrolled into the study, consisting of 67 patients who received treatment of AP with ATO (AP + ATO group) and 41 patients who received treatment of ATO alone (ATO group). Comparative outcomes included clinical efficacy, blood pressure (BP), the levels of blood lipids and inflammatory factors, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), the number of unstable carotid intima plaques, the carotid plaque area, and the incidence of adverse reactions. All patients were followed up for 3 years to evaluate their quality of life and the recurrence rate of CA.

Results

The AP + ATO group presented a higher efficacy, a declined BP, and lower posttreatment levels of blood lipids and inflammatory factors than the ATO group (P < 0.05). Reductions were observed in IMT, number of plaques, and plaque area in both groups after treatment, with more significant improvements in the AP + ATO group (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in the incidence of adverse reactions between two groups after treatment (P > 0.05). The follow-up analysis demonstrated a higher SF-36 score and a lower recurrence rate of CA in the AP + ATO group than the ATO group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The findings suggested that, for elderly EH patients with CA, treatment of AP with ATO offers better clinical efficacy and safety, which not only can decline the BP, but also can reduce blood lipids and plaque formation, and improve quality of life.

Novel roles of Tsukushi in signaling pathways and multiple disease processes

Tsukushi (TSK), a newly identified hepatokine, is a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) family. TSK was originally isolated and identified in the lens of the chicken. Preliminary research on TSK has focused on its role in various physiological processes such as growth and development, wound healing, and cartilage formation. In recent years, the role of TSK in regulating cell signaling pathways, cell proliferation, and differentiation has been studied. In addition, the research has gradually expanded to the fields of glycolipid metabolism and energy balance. This article briefly reviews the role of TSK in the physiological and pathological process.

Effects of inverted photoperiods on the blood pressure and carotid artery of spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of inverted photoperiods on the blood pressure and carotid arteries in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats (homologous control group).

METHODS AND RESULTS

This study used two inverted photoperiods [inverted light:dark (ILD)16 : 8 and ILD12 : 12] to create the model. A total of 27 male SHR and 27 male WKY rats were randomly divided into six groups (nine rats per group): SHR (LD12 : 12), SHR (ILD16 : 8), SHR (ILD12 : 12), WKY (LD12 : 12), WKY (ILD16 : 8) and WKY (ILD12 : 12). We recorded the trajectory of the activity rhythm of the rats and performed carotid vascular ultrasound examination, MRI (arterial spin labelling) analysis and carotid biopsy. The results showed that inverted photoperiods increased the blood pressure, carotid intima-media thickness, resistance index and blood flow velocity. In addition, inverted photoperiods led to the development of carotid arterial thrombosis, significantly reduced cerebral blood flow and increased the number of collagen fibres. Moreover, it increased the expression of angiotensin receptor and low-density lipoprotein receptor in the carotid arteries, leading to decreased expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A reductase and nitric oxide synthase. Inverted photoperiods induced the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. Multiple results of SHR were worse than those of WKY rats.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, inverted photoperiods can produce a series of adverse consequences on blood pressure and carotid arteries. Hypertension can aggravate the adverse effects of inverted photoperiods.

Endocan and Lumican in Relation to Cardiometabolic Risk in a Pediatric Overweight and Obese Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study

The aim of the study was to evaluate serum Endocan and Lumican levels as biomarkers for pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and to explore their associations with pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 68 pediatric obese and overweight (O&O) patients. Ten healthy controls were recruited. Serum Lumican and Endocan levels were analyzed using ELISA kits. O&O patients had lower levels of Endocan compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). There were no differences between serum Endocan levels in O&O patients with NAFLD and those without (p = 0.53). Patients considered having Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) had lower Endocan levels compared to O&O patients without NASH (p = 0.026). Patients with metabolic syndrome had lower levels of Endocan (p = 0.003). There were no significant differences between serum Lumican levels in O&O children compared to healthy controls. Lumican levels were higher in patients with hypertension (p = 0.04). In O&O patients, Lumican levels were negatively correlated with Endocan levels (r = −0.37, p = 0.002). Endocan seems a promising biomarker for the evaluation of pediatric NASH. Lumican was not confirmed as a biomarker for NAFLD in our cohort but was associated with higher arterial pressure. Low Endocan levels are accompanied by high serum Lumican levels, and this could be an early signature of cardiometabolic risk.

Osteoglycin and Bone-a Systematic Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Bone turnover is a regulated process. Osteoglycin is suggested to have an important impact on bone function but may also affect cardiovascular and metabolic functions. This review investigates the action of osteoglycin in bone as well as its potential endocrine effects.

RECENT FINDINGS

Osteoglycin is expressed by several tissues including bone and muscle. Some studies suggest that osteoglycin increases osteoblast differentiation whereas others suggest that osteoglycin decreases osteoblast differentiation. Thus, findings on the influence of osteoglycin in bone are conflicting. A recent study found increased bone mass in osteoglycin deficient mice. Another study reported that osteoglycin is a marker of low bone mineral density and vertebral fractures in women with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, clinical studies link osteoglycin to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Osteoglycin may be a novel marker of a muscle, pancreatic, and bone axis. However, current evidence is limited and further research investigating osteoglycin in both a pre-clinical and a clinical setting is needed.