Hyperoxia impairs induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells and drives an atherosclerosis-like transcriptional phenotype.

Background: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) directed to endothelial identity (iPSC-ECs) are emerging as a potent tool for regenerative medicine in vascular disease. However, iPSC-ECs lose expression of key identity markers under standard in vitro conditions, limiting their clinical applications.

Methods: To model physiological in vivo conditions, we examined the bioenergetics, presence of key cell markers, and proliferative and angiogenic capacity in iPSC-ECs at late and early passage under hyperoxic (21%) and physiological (4%) oxygen concentrations.

Dichotomous Roles of Smooth Muscle Cell-Derived MCP1 (Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1) in Development of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in atherosclerotic plaque take on multiple nonclassical phenotypes that may affect plaque stability and, therefore, the likelihood of myocardial infarction or stroke. However, the mechanisms by which these cells affect stability are only beginning to be explored.

Methods: In this study, we investigated the contribution of inflammatory MCP1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein 1) produced by both classical Myh11 (myosin heavy chain 11) SMCs and SMCs that have transitioned through an Lgals3 (galectin 3) state in atherosclerosis using smooth muscle lineage tracing mice that label all Myh11 cells and a dual lineage tracing system that targets Lgals3-transitioned SMC only.

SMC-Derived Hyaluronan Modulates Vascular SMC Phenotype in Murine Atherosclerosis.

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KLF4 (Kruppel-Like Factor 4)-Dependent Perivascular Plasticity Contributes to Adipose Tissue inflammation.

Objective: Smooth muscle cells and pericytes display remarkable plasticity during injury and disease progression. Here, we tested the hypothesis that perivascular cells give rise to -dependent macrophage-like cells that augment adipose tissue (AT) inflammation and metabolic dysfunction associated with diet-induced obesity (DIO). Approach and Results: Using eYFP (enhanced yellow fluorescent protein) mice and flow cytometry of the stromovascular fraction of epididymal AT, we observed a large fraction of smooth muscle cells and pericytes lineage traced eYFP cells expressing macrophage markers.

Stem Cell Pluripotency Genes Klf4 and Oct4 Regulate Complex SMC Phenotypic Changes Critical in Late-Stage Atherosclerotic Lesion Pathogenesis.

Background: Rupture and erosion of advanced atherosclerotic lesions with a resultant myocardial infarction or stroke are the leading worldwide cause of death. However, we have a limited understanding of the identity, origin, and function of many cells that make up late-stage atherosclerotic lesions, as well as the mechanisms by which they control plaque stability.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive single-cell RNA sequencing of advanced human carotid endarterectomy samples and compared these with single-cell RNA sequencing from murine microdissected advanced atherosclerotic lesions with smooth muscle cell (SMC) and endothelial lineage tracing to survey all plaque cell types and rigorously determine their origin.

A Single Amino Acid Substitution in an ORANGE Protein Promotes Carotenoid Overaccumulation in Arabidopsis.

Carotenoids are crucial for plant growth and human health. The finding of ORANGE (OR) protein as a pivotal regulator of carotenogenesis offers a unique opportunity to comprehensively understand the regulatory mechanisms of carotenoid accumulation and develop crops with enhanced nutritional quality. Here, we demonstrated that alteration of a single amino acid in a wild-type OR greatly enhanced its ability to promote carotenoid accumulation.

The Or gene enhances carotenoid accumulation and stability during post-harvest storage of potato tubers.

Provitamin A carotenoids in staple crops are not very stable during storage and their loss compromises nutritional quality. To elucidate the fundamental mechanisms underlying carotenoid accumulation and stability, we investigated transgenic potato tubers that expressed the cauliflower Orange (Or) gene. We found that the Or transgene not only promoted retention of β-carotene level, but also continuously stimulated its accumulation during 5 months of cold storage.

Evaluation of different multidimensional LC-MS/MS pipelines for isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based proteomic analysis of potato tubers in response to cold storage.

Cold-induced sweetening in potato tubers is a costly problem for the food industry. To systematically identify the proteins associated with this process, we employed a comparative proteomics approach using isobaric, stable isotope coded labels to compare the proteomes of potato tubers after 0 and 5 months of storage at 5 °C. We evaluated both high pH reverse phase (hpRP) liquid chromatography (LC) and off-gel electrophoresis (OGE) as first dimension fractionation methods followed by nanoLC-MS/MS, using two high performance mass spectrometry platforms (Q-TOF and Orbitrap).