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Li J, Yang L, Song J, Yan B, Morris AJ, Moseley H, Flight R, Wang C, Liu J, Weiss HL, Morris EF, Abdelhamid I, Gerl MJ, Melander O, Smyth S, Evers BM. Neurotensin accelerates atherosclerosis and increases circulating levels of short-chain and saturated triglycerides. Atherosclerosis 2024:117479. [PMID: 38423808 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117479] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Obesity and type 2 diabetes are significant risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide, but the underlying pathophysiological links are poorly understood. Neurotensin (NT), a 13-amino-acid hormone peptide, facilitates intestinal fat absorption and contributes to obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. Elevated levels of pro-NT (a stable NT precursor produced in equimolar amounts relative to NT) are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CVD in humans. Whether NT is a causative factor in CVD is unknown. METHODS Nt+/+ and Nt-/- mice were either injected with adeno-associated virus encoding PCSK9 mutants or crossed with Ldlr-/- mice and fed a Western diet. Atherosclerotic plaques were analyzed by en face analysis, Oil Red O and CD68 staining. In humans, we evaluated the association between baseline pro-NT and growth of carotid bulb thickness after 16.4 years. Lipidomic profiles were analyzed. RESULTS Atherosclerotic plaque formation is attenuated in Nt-deficient mice through mechanisms that are independent of reductions in circulating cholesterol and triglycerides but associated with remodeling of the plasma triglyceride pool. An increasing plasma concentration of pro-NT predicts atherosclerotic events in coronary and cerebral arteries independent of all major traditional risk factors, indicating a strong link between NT and atherosclerosis. This plasma lipid profile analysis confirms the association of pro-NT with remodeling of the plasma triglyceride pool in atherosclerotic events. CONCLUSIONS Our findings are the first to directly link NT to increased atherosclerosis and indicate the potential role for NT in preventive and therapeutic strategies for CVD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Liping Yang
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Jun Song
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Baoxiang Yan
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Andrew J Morris
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 77205, USA
| | | | | | - Chi Wang
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Jinpeng Liu
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | | | - Edward F Morris
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA
| | | | | | | | - Susan Smyth
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 77205, USA
| | - B Mark Evers
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.
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Jacome-Sosa M, Miao ZF, Peche VS, Morris EF, Narendran R, Pietka KM, Samovski D, Lo HYG, Pietka T, Varro A, Love-Gregory L, Goldenring JR, Kuda O, Gamazon ER, Mills JC, Abumrad NA. CD36 maintains the gastric mucosa and associates with gastric disease. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1247. [PMID: 34728772 PMCID: PMC8563937 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02765-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The gastric epithelium is often exposed to injurious elements and failure of appropriate healing predisposes to ulcers, hemorrhage, and ultimately cancer. We examined the gastric function of CD36, a protein linked to disease and homeostasis. We used the tamoxifen model of gastric injury in mice null for Cd36 (Cd36-/-), with Cd36 deletion in parietal cells (PC-Cd36-/-) or in endothelial cells (EC-Cd36-/-). CD36 expresses on corpus ECs, on PC basolateral membranes, and in gastrin and ghrelin cells. Stomachs of Cd36-/- mice have altered gland organization and secretion, more fibronectin, and inflammation. Tissue respiration and mitochondrial efficiency are reduced. Phospholipids increased and triglycerides decreased. Mucosal repair after injury is impaired in Cd36-/- and EC-Cd36-/-, not in PC-Cd36-/- mice, and is due to defect of progenitor differentiation to PCs, not of progenitor proliferation or mature PC dysfunction. Relevance to humans is explored in the Vanderbilt BioVu using PrediXcan that links genetically-determined gene expression to clinical phenotypes, which associates low CD36 mRNA with gastritis, gastric ulcer, and gastro-intestinal hemorrhage. A CD36 variant predicted to disrupt an enhancer site associates (p < 10-17) to death from gastro-intestinal hemorrhage in the UK Biobank. The findings support role of CD36 in gastric tissue repair, and its deletion associated with chronic diseases that can predispose to malignancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Jacome-Sosa
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Zhi-Feng Miao
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Tumors, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Vivek S Peche
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Edward F Morris
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Ramkumar Narendran
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kathryn M Pietka
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Dmitri Samovski
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Hei-Yong G Lo
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Terri Pietka
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Andrea Varro
- Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Latisha Love-Gregory
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - James R Goldenring
- Departments of Surgery and Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and VA Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ondrej Kuda
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Eric R Gamazon
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jason C Mills
- Gastroenterology & Hepatology Section, Departments of Medicine and of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Nada A Abumrad
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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