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Aghagolzadeh P, Plaisance I, Bernasconi R, Treibel TA, Pulido Quetglas C, Wyss T, Wigger L, Nemir M, Sarre A, Chouvardas P, Johnson R, González A, Pedrazzini T. Assessment of the Cardiac Noncoding Transcriptome by Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Identifies FIXER, a Conserved Profibrogenic Long Noncoding RNA. Circulation 2023; 148:778-797. [PMID: 37427428 DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.122.062601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiac fibroblasts have crucial roles in the heart. In particular, fibroblasts differentiate into myofibroblasts in the damaged myocardium, contributing to scar formation and interstitial fibrosis. Fibrosis is associated with heart dysfunction and failure. Myofibroblasts therefore represent attractive therapeutic targets. However, the lack of myofibroblast-specific markers has precluded the development of targeted therapies. In this context, most of the noncoding genome is transcribed into long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). A number of lncRNAs have pivotal functions in the cardiovascular system. lncRNAs are globally more cell-specific than protein-coding genes, supporting their importance as key determinants of cell identity. METHODS In this study, we evaluated the value of the lncRNA transcriptome in very deep single-cell RNA sequencing. We profiled the lncRNA transcriptome in cardiac nonmyocyte cells after infarction and probed heterogeneity in the fibroblast and myofibroblast populations. In addition, we searched for subpopulation-specific markers that can constitute novel targets in therapy for heart disease. RESULTS We demonstrated that cardiac cell identity can be defined by the sole expression of lncRNAs in single-cell experiments. In this analysis, we identified lncRNAs enriched in relevant myofibroblast subpopulations. Selecting 1 candidate we named FIXER (fibrogenic LOX-locus enhancer RNA), we showed that its silencing limits fibrosis and improves heart function after infarction. Mechanitically, FIXER interacts with CBX4, an E3 SUMO protein ligase and transcription factor, guiding CBX4 to the promoter of the transcription factor RUNX1 to control its expression and, consequently, the expression of a fibrogenic gene program.. FIXER is conserved in humans, supporting its translational value. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated that lncRNA expression is sufficient to identify the various cell types composing the mammalian heart. Focusing on cardiac fibroblasts and their derivatives, we identified lncRNAs uniquely expressed in myofibroblasts. In particular, the lncRNA FIXER represents a novel therapeutic target for cardiac fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parisa Aghagolzadeh
- Experimental Cardiology Unit, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Lausanne Medical School, Switzerland (P.A., I.P., R.B., M.N., T.P.)
| | - Isabelle Plaisance
- Experimental Cardiology Unit, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Lausanne Medical School, Switzerland (P.A., I.P., R.B., M.N., T.P.)
| | - Riccardo Bernasconi
- Experimental Cardiology Unit, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Lausanne Medical School, Switzerland (P.A., I.P., R.B., M.N., T.P.)
| | - Thomas A Treibel
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom (T.A.T.)
| | - Carlos Pulido Quetglas
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Switzerland (C.P.Q., P.C., R.J.)
| | - Tania Wyss
- Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland (T.W.)
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland (T.W., L.W.)
| | - Leonore Wigger
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland (T.W., L.W.)
| | - Mohamed Nemir
- Experimental Cardiology Unit, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Lausanne Medical School, Switzerland (P.A., I.P., R.B., M.N., T.P.)
| | - Alexandre Sarre
- Cardiovascular Assessment Facility, University of Lausanne, Switzerland (A.S.)
| | - Panagiotis Chouvardas
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Switzerland (C.P.Q., P.C., R.J.)
| | - Rory Johnson
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Switzerland (C.P.Q., P.C., R.J.)
| | - Arantxa González
- Program of Cardiovascular Diseases, CIMA Universidad de Navarra and IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain (A.G.)
- CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain (A.G.)
| | - Thierry Pedrazzini
- Experimental Cardiology Unit, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Lausanne Medical School, Switzerland (P.A., I.P., R.B., M.N., T.P.)
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