Hyunbum Kim, Yu Liu, Jiwon Kim, Yunhye Kim, Timothy Klouda, Sudeshna Fisch, Seung Han Baek, Tiffany Liu, Suzanne Dahlberg, Cheng-Jun Hu, Wen Tian, Xinguo Jiang, Kosmas Kosmas, Helen A Christou, Benjamin D. Korman, Sara O. Vargas, Joseph C. Wu, Kurt R. Stenmark, Vinicio de Jesus Perez, Mark R. Nicolls,Benjamin A. Raby, Ke Yuan
European Molecular Biology Organization Reports
EMBO Rep 2024;
DOI: 10.1038/s44319-023-00054-w
Abstract
Vascular remodeling is the process of structural alteration and cell rearrangement of blood vessels in response to injury and is the cause of many of the world’s most afflicted cardiovascular conditions, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Many studies have focused on the effects of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) during vascular remodeling, but pericytes, an indispensable cell population residing largely in capillaries, are ignored in this maladaptive process. Here, we report that hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α) expression is increased in the lung tissues of PAH patients, and HIF2α overexpressed pericytes result in greater contractility and an impaired endothelial-pericyte interaction. Using single-cell RNAseq and hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) models, we show that HIF2α is a major molecular regulator for the transformation of pericytes into SMC-like cells. Pericyte-selective HIF2α overexpression in mice exacerbates PH and right ventricular hypertrophy. Temporal cellular lineage tracing shows that HIF2α overexpressing reporter NG2+ cells (pericyte-selective) relocate from capillaries to arterioles and co-express SMA. This novel insight into the crucial role of NG2+ pericytes in pulmonary vascular remodeling via HIF2α signaling suggests a potential drug target for PH.
Category
Class III. Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Alveolar Hypoxia
Animal Models of Pulmonary Vascular Disease and Therapy
Vascular Cell Biology and Mechanisms of Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Pulmonary Vascular Pathology
Age Focus: No Age-Related Focus
Fresh or Filed Publication: Fresh (PHresh). Less than 1-2 years since publication
Article Access
Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: Yes