Two-photon Imaging of Intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> Handling and Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells of an Isolated Rat Aorta

Calcium is a very important regulator of many physiological processes in vascular tissues. Most endothelial and smooth muscle functions highly depend on ...

Medical College of Wisconsin

PLEKHA7 (pleckstrin homology domain containing family A member 7) has been found in multiple studies as a candidate gene for human hypertension, yet functional data supporting this association are lacking. We investigated the contribution of this gene to the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension by mutating Plekha7 in the Dahl salt-sensitive (SS/JrHsdMcwi) rat using zinc-finger nuclease technology. After four weeks on an 8% NaCl diet, homozygous mutant rats had lower mean arterial (149 ± 9 mmHg vs. 178 ± 7 mmHg; P < 0.05) and systolic (180 ± 7 mmHg vs. 213 ± 8 mmHg; P < 0.05) blood pressure compared with WT littermates. Albumin and protein excretion rates were also significantly lower in mutant rats, demonstrating a renoprotective effect of the mutation. Total peripheral resistance and perivascular fibrosis in the heart and kidney were significantly reduced in Plekha7 mutant animals, suggesting a potential role of the vasculature in the attenuation of hypertension. Indeed, both flow-mediated dilation and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in response to acetylcholine were improved in isolated mesenteric resistance arteries of Plekha7 mutant rats compared with WT. These vascular improvements were correlated with changes in intracellular calcium handling, resulting in increased nitric oxide bioavailability in mutant vessels. Collectively, these data provide the first functional evidence that Plekha7 may contribute to blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular function through its effects on the vasculature.

Mutation of Plekha7 attenuates salt-sensitive hypertension in the rat.

The majority of causative variants in familial breast cancer remain unknown. Of the known risk variants, most are tumor cell autonomous, and little attention has been paid yet to germline variants that may affect the tumor microenvironment. In this study, we developed a system called the Consomic Xenograft Model (CXM) to map germline variants that affect only the tumor microenvironment. In CXM, human breast cancer cells are orthotopically implanted into immunodeficient consomic strains and tumor metrics are quantified (e.g., growth, vasculogenesis, and metastasis). Because the strain backgrounds vary, whereas the malignant tumor cells do not, any observed changes in tumor progression are due to genetic differences in the nonmalignant microenvironment. Using CXM, we defined genetic variants on rat chromosome 3 that reduced relative tumor growth and hematogenous metastasis in the SS.BN3(IL2Rγ) consomic model compared with the SS(IL2Rγ) parental strain. Paradoxically, these effects occurred despite an increase in the density of tumor-associated blood vessels. In contrast, lymphatic vasculature and lymphogenous metastasis were unaffected by the SS.BN3(IL2Rγ) background. Through comparative mapping and whole-genome sequence analysis, we narrowed candidate variants on rat chromosome 3 to six genes with a priority for future analysis. Collectively, our results establish the utility of CXM to localize genetic variants affecting the tumor microenvironment that underlie differences in breast cancer risk.

CXM: a new tool for mapping breast cancer risk in the tumor microenvironment.

Environmental exposure of parents or early in life may affect disease development in adults. We found that hypertension and renal injury induced by a high-salt diet were substantially attenuated in Dahl SS/JrHsdMcwiCrl (SS/Crl) rats that had been maintained for many generations on the grain-based 5L2F diet compared with SS/JrHsdMcwi rats (SS/Mcw) maintained on the casein-based AIN-76A diet (mean arterial pressure, 116±9 versus 154±25 mm Hg; urinary albumin excretion, 23±12 versus 170±80 mg/d). RNAseq analysis of the renal outer medulla identified 129 and 82 genes responding to a high-salt diet uniquely in SS/Mcw and SS/Crl rats, respectively, along with minor genetic differences between the SS substrains. The 129 genes responding to salt in the SS/Mcw strain included numerous genes with homologs associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or renal disease in human. To narrow the critical window of exposure, we performed embryo-transfer experiments in which single-cell embryos from 1 colony (SS/Mcw or SS/Crl) were transferred to surrogate mothers from the other colony, with parents and surrogate mothers maintained on their respective original diet. All offspring were fed the AIN-76A diet after weaning. Salt-induced hypertension and renal injury were substantially exacerbated in rats developed from SS/Crl embryos transferred to SS/Mcw surrogate mothers. Conversely, salt-induced hypertension and renal injury were significantly attenuated in rats developed from SS/Mcw embryos transferred to SS/Crl surrogate mothers. Together, the data suggest that maternal diet during the gestational-lactational period has substantial effects on the development of salt-induced hypertension and renal injury in adult SS rats.

Maternal diet during gestation and lactation modifies the severity of salt-induced hypertension and renal injury in dahl salt-sensitive rats.

Human genome-wide association studies have linked SH2B adaptor protein 3 (SH2B3, LNK) to hypertension and renal disease, although little experimental investigation has been performed to verify a role for SH2B3 in these pathologies. SH2B3, a member of the SH2B adaptor protein family, is an intracellular adaptor protein that functions as a negative regulator in many signaling pathways, including inflammatory signaling processes. To explore a mechanistic link between SH2B3 and hypertension, we targeted the SH2B3 gene for mutation on the Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rat genetic background with zinc-finger nucleases. The resulting mutation was a 6-bp, in-frame deletion within a highly conserved region of the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain of SH2B3. This mutation significantly attenuated Dahl SS hypertension and renal disease. Also, infiltration of leukocytes into the kidneys, a key mediator of Dahl SS pathology, was significantly blunted in the Sh2b3(em1Mcwi) mutant rats. To determine whether this was because of differences in immune signaling, bone marrow transplant studies were performed in which Dahl SS and Sh2b3(em1Mcwi) mutants underwent total body irradiation and were then transplanted with Dahl SS or Sh2b3(em1Mcwi) mutant bone marrow. Rats that received Sh2b3(em1Mcwi) mutant bone marrow had a significant reduction in mean arterial pressure and kidney injury when placed on a high salt diet (4% NaCl). These data further support a role for the immune system as a modulator of disease severity in the pathogenesis of hypertension and provide insight into inflammatory mechanisms at play in human hypertension and renal disease.

Mutation of SH2B3 (LNK), a genome-wide association study candidate for hypertension, attenuates Dahl salt-sensitive hypertension via inflammatory modulation.

Bradley T. Endres

Departments of Physiology,
Human and Molecular Genetics Center

Medical College of Wisconsin

Two-photon Imaging of Intracellular Ca²⁺ Handling and Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells of an Isolated Rat Aorta

Bradley T. Endres

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Departments of Physiology,Human and Molecular Genetics Center

Medical College of Wisconsin

Two-photon Imaging of Intracellular Ca2+ Handling and Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells of an Isolated Rat Aorta

Departments of Physiology,
Human and Molecular Genetics Center

Two-photon Imaging of Intracellular Ca²⁺ Handling and Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells of an Isolated Rat Aorta