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Lamin A/C Ablation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cardiomyocytes, and Cardiac Fibroblasts Causes Cardiac and Vascular Dysfunction: Role in the Pathophysiology of LMNA-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathies
Del Monte-Monge, A.; Ruiz-Polo de Lara, Í.; Gonzalo, P.; Espinós-Estévez, C.; González-Amor, M.; de la Fuente-Pérez, M.; Andrés-Manzano, M.J.; Fanjul, V.; Gimeno, J.R.; Barriales-Villa, R.; Dorado, B.; Andrés, V. Lamin A/C Ablation Restricted to Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cardiomyocytes, and Cardiac Fibroblasts Causes Cardiac and Vascular Dysfunction. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2023, 24, 11172.
Del Monte-Monge, A.; Ruiz-Polo de Lara, Í.; Gonzalo, P.; Espinós-Estévez, C.; González-Amor, M.; de la Fuente-Pérez, M.; Andrés-Manzano, M.J.; Fanjul, V.; Gimeno, J.R.; Barriales-Villa, R.; Dorado, B.; Andrés, V. Lamin A/C Ablation Restricted to Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cardiomyocytes, and Cardiac Fibroblasts Causes Cardiac and Vascular Dysfunction. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 11172.
Del Monte-Monge, A.; Ruiz-Polo de Lara, Í.; Gonzalo, P.; Espinós-Estévez, C.; González-Amor, M.; de la Fuente-Pérez, M.; Andrés-Manzano, M.J.; Fanjul, V.; Gimeno, J.R.; Barriales-Villa, R.; Dorado, B.; Andrés, V. Lamin A/C Ablation Restricted to Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cardiomyocytes, and Cardiac Fibroblasts Causes Cardiac and Vascular Dysfunction. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2023, 24, 11172.
Del Monte-Monge, A.; Ruiz-Polo de Lara, Í.; Gonzalo, P.; Espinós-Estévez, C.; González-Amor, M.; de la Fuente-Pérez, M.; Andrés-Manzano, M.J.; Fanjul, V.; Gimeno, J.R.; Barriales-Villa, R.; Dorado, B.; Andrés, V. Lamin A/C Ablation Restricted to Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cardiomyocytes, and Cardiac Fibroblasts Causes Cardiac and Vascular Dysfunction. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 11172.
Abstract
Mutations in the LMNA gene (encoding lamin A/C proteins) cause several human cardiac diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathies (LMNA-DCM). The main clinical risks in LMNA-DCM patients are sudden cardiac death and progressive left ventricular ejection fraction deterioration, and therefore most human and animal studies have sought to define the mechanisms through which LMNA mutations provoke cardiac alterations, with particular focus on cardiomyocytes. To investigate if LMNA mutations also cause vascular alterations that might contribute to the etiopathogenesis of LMNA-DCM, we generated and characterized Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice, which constitutively lack lamin A/C in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), cardiac fibroblasts, and cardiomyocytes. Like mice with whole body or cardiomyocyte-specific lamin A/C ablation, Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice recapitulated the main hallmarks of human LMNA-DCM, including ventricular systolic dysfunction, cardiac conduction defects, cardiac fibrosis, and premature death. These alterations were associated with hyperactivation of Smad3 and elevated expression of the proapoptotic protein caspase 3 in the heart. Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice also exhibited perivascular fibrosis in the coronary arteries, and a switch of aortic VSMCs from the ‘contractile’ to the ‘synthetic’ phenotype. Ex vivo wire myography in isolated aortic rings revealed impaired maximum contraction capacity and an altered response to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator agents in Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice. To our knowledge, our results provide the first evidence of phenotypic alterations in VSMCs that might contribute significantly to the pathophysiology of some forms of LMNA-DCM. Future work addressing the mechanisms underlying vascular defects in LMNA-DCM may open new therapeutic avenues for these diseases.
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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