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Jonker T, Barnett P, Boink GJJ, Christoffels VM. Role of Genetic Variation in Transcriptional Regulatory Elements in Heart Rhythm. Cells 2023; 13:4. [PMID: 38201209 PMCID: PMC10777909 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Genetic predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias has been a field of intense investigation. Research initially focused on rare hereditary arrhythmias, but over the last two decades, the role of genetic variation (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in heart rate, rhythm, and arrhythmias has been taken into consideration as well. In particular, genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of genomic loci associated with quantitative electrocardiographic traits, atrial fibrillation, and less common arrhythmias such as Brugada syndrome. A significant number of associated variants have been found to systematically localize in non-coding regulatory elements that control the tissue-specific and temporal transcription of genes encoding transcription factors, ion channels, and other proteins. However, the identification of causal variants and the mechanism underlying their impact on phenotype has proven difficult due to the complex tissue-specific, time-resolved, condition-dependent, and combinatorial function of regulatory elements, as well as their modest conservation across different model species. In this review, we discuss research efforts aimed at identifying and characterizing-trait-associated variant regulatory elements and the molecular mechanisms underlying their impact on heart rate or rhythm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo Jonker
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (T.J.); (P.B.); (G.J.J.B.)
| | - Phil Barnett
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (T.J.); (P.B.); (G.J.J.B.)
| | - Gerard J. J. Boink
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (T.J.); (P.B.); (G.J.J.B.)
- Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent M. Christoffels
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (T.J.); (P.B.); (G.J.J.B.)
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Sweat ME, Cao Y, Zhang X, Burnicka-Turek O, Perez-Cervantes C, Arulsamy K, Lu F, Keating EM, Akerberg BN, Ma Q, Wakimoto H, Gorham JM, Hill LD, Kyoung Song M, Trembley MA, Wang P, Gianeselli M, Prondzynski M, Bortolin RH, Bezzerides VJ, Chen K, Seidman JG, Seidman CE, Moskowitz IP, Pu WT. Tbx5 maintains atrial identity in post-natal cardiomyocytes by regulating an atrial-specific enhancer network. NATURE CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH 2023; 2:881-898. [PMID: 38344303 PMCID: PMC10854392 DOI: 10.1038/s44161-023-00334-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how the atrial and ventricular heart chambers maintain distinct identities is a prerequisite for treating chamber-specific diseases. Here, we selectively knocked out (KO) the transcription factor Tbx5 in the atrial working myocardium to evaluate its requirement for atrial identity. Atrial Tbx5 inactivation downregulated atrial cardiomyocyte (aCM) selective gene expression. Using concurrent single nucleus transcriptome and open chromatin profiling, genomic accessibility differences were identified between control and Tbx5 KO aCMs, revealing that 69% of the control-enriched ATAC regions were bound by TBX5. Genes associated with these regions were downregulated in KO aCMs, suggesting they function as TBX5-dependent enhancers. Comparing enhancer chromatin looping using H3K27ac HiChIP identified 510 chromatin loops sensitive to TBX5 dosage, and 74.8% of control-enriched loops contained anchors in control-enriched ATAC regions. Together, these data demonstrate TBX5 maintains the atrial gene expression program by binding to and preserving the tissue-specific chromatin architecture of atrial enhancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason E. Sweat
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Yangpo Cao
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Xiaoran Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Ozanna Burnicka-Turek
- Department of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Carlos Perez-Cervantes
- Department of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Kulandai Arulsamy
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Fujian Lu
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Erin M. Keating
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Brynn N. Akerberg
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Qing Ma
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Hiroko Wakimoto
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Joshua M. Gorham
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lauren D. Hill
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Mi Kyoung Song
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Michael A. Trembley
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Peizhe Wang
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Matteo Gianeselli
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | | | - Raul H. Bortolin
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | | | - Kaifu Chen
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Jonathan G. Seidman
- Department of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Christine E. Seidman
- Department of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Ivan P. Moskowitz
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - William T. Pu
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
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Zhu C, Baumgarten N, Wu M, Wang Y, Das AP, Kaur J, Ardakani FB, Duong TT, Pham MD, Duda M, Dimmeler S, Yuan T, Schulz MH, Krishnan J. CVD-associated SNPs with regulatory potential reveal novel non-coding disease genes. Hum Genomics 2023; 17:69. [PMID: 37491351 PMCID: PMC10369730 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00513-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) appearing in non-coding genomic regions in CVDs. The SNPs may alter gene expression by modifying transcription factor (TF) binding sites and lead to functional consequences in cardiovascular traits or diseases. To understand the underlying molecular mechanisms, it is crucial to identify which variations are involved and how they affect TF binding. METHODS The SNEEP (SNP exploration and analysis using epigenomics data) pipeline was used to identify regulatory SNPs, which alter the binding behavior of TFs and link GWAS SNPs to their potential target genes for six CVDs. The human-induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), monoculture cardiac organoids (MCOs) and self-organized cardiac organoids (SCOs) were used in the study. Gene expression, cardiomyocyte size and cardiac contractility were assessed. RESULTS By using our integrative computational pipeline, we identified 1905 regulatory SNPs in CVD GWAS data. These were associated with hundreds of genes, half of them non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), suggesting novel CVD genes. We experimentally tested 40 CVD-associated non-coding RNAs, among them RP11-98F14.11, RPL23AP92, IGBP1P1, and CTD-2383I20.1, which were upregulated in hiPSC-CMs, MCOs and SCOs under hypoxic conditions. Further experiments showed that IGBP1P1 depletion rescued expression of hypertrophic marker genes, reduced hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte size and improved hypoxia-reduced cardiac contractility in hiPSC-CMs and MCOs. CONCLUSIONS IGBP1P1 is a novel ncRNA with key regulatory functions in modulating cardiomyocyte size and cardiac function in our disease models. Our data suggest ncRNA IGBP1P1 as a potential therapeutic target to improve cardiac function in CVDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaonan Zhu
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Nina Baumgarten
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Rhein-Main, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Meiqian Wu
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Yue Wang
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Arka Provo Das
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Jaskiran Kaur
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Behjati Ardakani
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Rhein-Main, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Thanh Thuy Duong
- Genome Biologics, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Minh Duc Pham
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Department of Medicine III, Cardiology/Angiology/ Nephrology, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
- Genome Biologics, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Maria Duda
- Genome Biologics, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Stefanie Dimmeler
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Rhein-Main, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Ting Yuan
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- Department of Medicine III, Cardiology/Angiology/ Nephrology, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Marcel H Schulz
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Rhein-Main, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
| | - Jaya Krishnan
- Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Rhein-Main, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, 60590, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
- Department of Medicine III, Cardiology/Angiology/ Nephrology, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Murphy MB, Kannankeril PJ, Murray KT. Overview of programmed electrical stimulation to assess atrial fibrillation susceptibility in mice. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1149023. [PMID: 37113690 PMCID: PMC10126433 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1149023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common human arrhythmia and is associated with increased risk of stroke, dementia, heart failure, and death. Among several animal models that have been used to investigate the molecular determinants of AF, mouse models have become the most prevalent due to low cost, ease of genetic manipulation, and similarity to human disease. Programmed electrical stimulation (PES) using intracardiac or transesophageal atrial pacing is used to induce AF as most mouse models do not develop spontaneous AF. However, there is a lack of standardized methodology resulting in numerous PES protocols in the literature that differ with respect to multiple parameters, including pacing protocol and duration, stimulus amplitude, pulse width, and even the definition of AF. Given this complexity, the selection of the appropriate atrial pacing protocol for a specific model has been arbitrary. Herein we review the development of intracardiac and transesophageal PES, including commonly used protocols, selected experimental models, and advantages and disadvantages of both techniques. We also emphasize detection of artifactual AF induction due to unintended parasympathetic stimulation, which should be excluded from results. We recommend that the optimal pacing protocol to elicit an AF phenotype should be individualized to the specific model of genetic or acquired risk factors, with an analysis using several definitions of AF as an endpoint.
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