Coupled myovascular expansion directs cardiac growth and regeneration.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Heart regeneration requires multiple cell types to enable cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation. How these cells interact to create growth niches is unclear. Here, we profile proliferation kinetics of cardiac endothelial cells (CECs) and CMs in the neonatal mouse heart and find that they are spatiotemporally coupled. We show that coupled myovascular expansion during cardiac growth or regeneration is dependent upon VEGF-VEGFR2 signaling, as genetic deletion of Vegfr2 from CECs or inhibition of VEGFA abrogates both CEC and CM proliferation. Repair of cryoinjury displays poor spatial coupling of CEC and CM proliferation. Boosting CEC density after cryoinjury with virus encoding Vegfa enhances regeneration. Using Mendelian randomization, we demonstrate that circulating VEGFA levels are positively linked with human myocardial mass, suggesting that Vegfa can stimulate human cardiac growth. Our work demonstrates the importance of coupled CEC and CM expansion and reveals a myovascular niche that may be therapeutically targeted for heart regeneration.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- DeBenedittis, P; Karpurapu, A; Henry, A; Thomas, MC; McCord, TJ; Brezitski, K; Prasad, A; Baker, CE; Kobayashi, Y; Shah, SH; Kontos, CD; Tata, PR; Lumbers, RT; Karra, R
Published Date
- September 15, 2022
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 149 / 18
PubMed ID
- 36134690
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1477-9129
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1242/dev.200654
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England