Objective—: Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) are severe vascular conditions. Dysfunctional transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells and elevated angiotensin II (AngII) levels are implicated in the development of TAAD. In this study, we investigated whether these 2 factors lead to TAAD in a mouse model and explored the possibility of using microRNA-21 ( miR-21 ) for the treatment of TAAD. Approach and Results—: TAAD was developed in Smad3 (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3) heterozygous (S3 ^+/− ) mice infused with AngII. We found that p-ERK (phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinases)– and p-JNK (phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase)–associated miR-21 was higher in TAAD lesions. We hypothesize that downregulation of miR-21 mitigate TAAD formation. However, Smad3 ^+/− :miR-21 ^−/− (S3 ^+/− 21 ^−/− ) mice exhibited conspicuous TAAD formation after AngII infusion. The vascular wall was dilated, and aortic rupture occurred within 23 days during AngII infusion. We then examined canonical and noncanonical TGF-β signaling and found that miR-21 knockout in S3 ^+/− mice increased SMAD7 and suppressed canonical TGF-β signaling. Vascular smooth muscle cells lacking TGF-β signals tended to switch from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype. The silencing of Smad7 with lentivirus prevented AngII-induced TAAD formation in S3 ^+/− 21 ^−/− mice. Conclusions—: Our study demonstrated that miR-21 knockout exacerbated AngII-induced TAAD formation in mice, which was associated with TGF-β signaling dysfunction. Therapeutic strategies targeting TAAD should consider unexpected side effects associated with alterations in TGF-β signaling.

Retinoic acid receptors (RAR; α, β, and γ), members of the nuclear receptor superfamily, mediate the pleiotropic effects of the vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid (RA) and derivatives (retinoids) in normal and cancer cells. Abnormal expression and function of RARs are often involved in the growth and development of cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely elusive. Here, we report that levels of RARγ were significantly elevated in tumor tissues from a majority of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in HCC cell lines. Overexpression of RARγ promoted colony formation by HCC cells in vitro and the growth of HCC xenografts in animals. In HepG2 cells, transfection of RARγ enhanced, whereas downregulation of RARγ expression by siRNA approach impaired, the effect of RA on inducing the expression of α-fetoprotein, a protein marker of hepatocarcinogenesis. In studying the possible mechanism by which overexpression of RARγ contributed to liver cancer cell growth and transformation, we observed that RARγ resided mainly in the cytoplasm of HCC cells, interacting with the p85α regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). The interaction between RARγ and p85α resulted in activation of Akt and NF-κB, critical regulators of the growth and survival of cancer cells. Together, our results show that overexpression of RARγ plays a role in the growth of HCC cells through nongenomic activation of the PI3K/Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways. Cancer Res; 70(6); 2285–95

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) represents a life-threatening condition characterized by medial layer degeneration of the abdominal aorta. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding changes in regulators associated with aortic status remains incomplete. A thorough understanding of cell types and signaling pathways involved in the development and progression of AAAs is essential for the development of medical therapy. We harvested specimens of the abdominal aorta with different pathological features in Angiotensin II (AngII)-infused ApoE^-/- mice, conducted scRNA-seq, identified a unique population of interferon-inducible monocytes/macrophages (IFNICs), which were amply found in the abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) revealed that activation of the cytosolic DNA sensing cGAS-STING and JAK-STAT pathways promoted the secretion of type I interferons in monocytes/macrophages and differentiated them into IFNICs. We generated myeloid cell-specific deletion of Sting1 (Lyz2-Cre^+/-; Sting1^flox/flox) mice and performed bone marrow transplantation and found that myeloid cell-specific deletion of Sting1 or Ifnar1 significantly reduced the incidence of AAA, aortic rupture rate and diameter of the abdominal aorta. Mechanistically, the activated pyroptosis- and inflammation-related signaling pathways, regulated by IRF7 in IFNICs, play critical roles in the developing AAAs. IFNICs is a unique monocyte/macrophage subset implicated in the development of AAAs and aortic rupture.

MiRNA‐mediated pyroptosis play crucial effects in the development of myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury (MIRI). Piperine (PIP) possesses multiple pharmacological effects especially in I/R condition. This study focuses on whether PIP protects MIRI from pyroptosis via miR‐383‐dependent pathway. Rat MIRI model was established by 30 minutes of LAD ligation and 4 hours of reperfusion. Myocardial enzymes, histomorphology, structure and function were detected to evaluate MIRI. Recombinant adenoviral vectors for miR‐383 overexpression or miR‐383 silencing or RP105 knockdown were constructed, respectively. Luciferase reporter analysis was used to confirm RP105 as a target of miR‐383. Pyroptosis‐related markers were measured by Western blotting assay. The results showed that I/R provoked myocardial injury, as shown by the increases of LDH/CK releases, infarcted areas and apoptosis as well as worsened function and structure. Pyroptosis‐related mediators including NLRP3, cleaved caspase‐1, cleaved IL‐1β and IL‐18 were also reinforced after MIRI. However, PIP treatment greatly ameliorated MIRI in parallel with pyroptotic repression. In mechanistic studies, MIRI‐caused elevation of miR‐383 and decrease of RP105/PI3K/AKT pathway were reverted by PIP treatment. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed RP105 as a miR‐383 target. miR‐383 knockdown ameliorated but miR‐383 overexpression facilitated pyroptosis and MIRI. Moreover, the anti‐pyroptotic effect from miR‐383 silencing was verified to be relied on the RP105/PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. Additionally, our present study further indicated the miR‐383/RP105/AKT‐dependent approach resulting from PIP administration against pyroptosis in MIRI. Therefore, PIP treatment attenuates MIRI and pyroptosis by regulating miR‐383/RP105/AKT pathway, and it may provide a therapeutic manner for the treatment of MIRI.

Background: Cardiac hypertrophy has been recognized as an important independent risk factor for the development of heart failure and increases the risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 23 (ADAM23), a member of ADAM family, is involved in cancer and neuronal differentiation. Although ADAM23 is expressed in the heart, the role of ADAM23 in the heart and in cardiac diseases remains unknown. Methods and Results: We observed that ADAM23 expression is decreased in both failing human hearts and hypertrophic mice hearts. Cardiac‐specific conditional ADAM23‐knockout mice significantly exhibited exacerbated cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction, whereas transgenic mice overexpressing ADAM23 in the heart exhibited reduced cardiac hypertrophy in response to pressure overload. Consistent results were also observed in angiotensin II ‐induced neonatal rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Mechanistically, ADAM23 exerts anti‐hypertrophic effects by specifically targeting the focal adhesion kinase‐protein kinase B (FAK‐AKT) signaling cascade. Focal adhesion kinase inactivation by inhibitor ( PF ‐562271) greatly reversed the detrimental effects in ADAM23‐knockout mice subjected to aortic banding. Conclusion: Altogether, we identified ADAM23 as a negative regulator of cardiac hypertrophy through inhibiting focal adhesion kinase‐protein kinase B signaling pathway, which could be a promising therapeutic target for this malady.

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a hereditary disorder primarily caused by mutations in the FBN1 gene. Its critical cardiovascular manifestation is thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), which poses life-threatening risks. Owing to the lack of effective pharmacological therapies, surgical intervention continues to be the current definitive treatment. In this study, the role of Piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1 (Piezo1) in MFS was investigated and the activation of PIEZO1 was identified as a potential treatment for MFS. PIEZO1 expression was detected in MFS mice (Fbn1^C1041G/+) and patients. Piezo1 conditional knockout mice in vascular smooth muscle cells of MFS mice (MFS × CKO) was generated, and bioinformatics analysis and experiments in vitro and in vivo were performed to investigate the role of Piezo1 in MFS. PIEZO1 expression decreased in the aortas of MFS mice; MFS × CKO mice showed aggravated TAA, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodelling, and TGF-β pathway activation compared to MFS mice. Mechanistically, PIEZO1 knockout exacerbated the activation of the TGF-β signalling pathway by inhibiting the endocytosis and autophagy of TGF-β receptor 2 mediated by Rab GTPase 3C. Additionally, the pharmacological activation PIEZO1 through Yoda1 prevented TGF-β signalling pathway activation and reversed TAA in MFS mice. Piezo1 deficiency aggravates MFS aneurysms by promoting TGF-β signalling pathway activation via TGF-β receptor 2 endocytosis and a decrease in autophagy. These data suggest that PIEZO1 may be a potential therapeutic target for MFS treatment. Piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1 (PIEZO1) governs vascular smooth muscle cell extracellular matrix to repress Marfan syndrome (MFS) thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). PIEZO1 is decreased in MFS TAA, which results in the TGF-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2) enrichment in the cell membrane and TGF-β signalling pathway activation, which subsequently leads extracellular matrix remodelling to aggravate MFS TAA. PIEZO1-specific agonist Yoda1 could inhibit the TGF-β signalling by increasing RAB3C-mediated endocytosis and autophagy of TGFBR2. The PIEZO1–RAB3C–TGFBR2 regulatory axis could be targeted for treating MFS TAA.