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Browsing by Author "Sun, Yanan"
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Item SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces IL-18-mediated cardiopulmonary inflammation via reduced mitophagy(Springer Nature, 2023-03-09) Liang, Shuxin; Bao, Changlei; Yang, Zi; Liu, Shiyun; Sun, Yanan; Cao, Weitao; Wang, Ting; Schwantes-An, Tae-Hwi; Choy, John S.; Naidu, Samisubbu; Luo, Ang; Yin, Wenguang; Black, Stephen M.; Wang, Jian; Desai, Ankit A.; Tang, Haiyang; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineCardiopulmonary complications are major drivers of mortality caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Interleukin-18, an inflammasome-induced cytokine, has emerged as a novel mediator of cardiopulmonary pathologies but its regulation via SARS-CoV-2 signaling remains unknown. Based on a screening panel, IL-18 was identified amongst 19 cytokines to stratify mortality and hospitalization burden in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Supporting clinical data, administration of SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1 (S1) glycoprotein or receptor-binding domain (RBD) proteins into human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transgenic mice induced cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction associated with higher NF-κB phosphorylation (pNF-κB) and cardiopulmonary-derived IL-18 and NLRP3 expression. IL-18 inhibition via IL-18BP resulted in decreased cardiac pNF-κB and improved cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction in S1- or RBD-exposed hACE2 mice. Through in vivo and in vitro work, both S1 and RBD proteins induced NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-18 expression by inhibiting mitophagy and increasing mitochondrial reactive oxygenation species. Enhancing mitophagy prevented Spike protein-mediated IL-18 expression. Moreover, IL-18 inhibition reduced Spike protein-mediated pNF-κB and EC permeability. Overall, the link between reduced mitophagy and inflammasome activation represents a novel mechanism during COVID-19 pathogenesis and suggests IL-18 and mitophagy as potential therapeutic targets.Item Sex Differences, Estrogen Metabolism and Signaling in the Development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension(Frontiers Media, 2021-09-10) Sun, Yanan; Sangam, Shreya; Guo, Qiang; Wang, Jian; Tang, Haiyang; Black, Stephen M.; Desai, Ankit A.; Medicine, School of MedicinePulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex and devastating disease with a poor long-term prognosis. While women are at increased risk for developing PAH, they exhibit superior right heart function and higher survival rates than men. Susceptibility to disease risk in PAH has been attributed, in part, to estrogen signaling. In contrast to potential pathological influences of estrogen in patients, studies of animal models reveal estrogen demonstrates protective effects in PAH. Consistent with this latter observation, an ovariectomy in female rats appears to aggravate the condition. This discrepancy between observations from patients and animal models is often called the “estrogen paradox.” Further, the tissue-specific interactions between estrogen, its metabolites and receptors in PAH and right heart function remain complex; nonetheless, these relationships are essential to characterize to better understand PAH pathophysiology and to potentially develop novel therapeutic and curative targets. In this review, we explore estrogen-mediated mechanisms that may further explain this paradox by summarizing published literature related to: (1) the synthesis and catabolism of estrogen; (2) activity and functions of the various estrogen receptors; (3) the multiple modalities of estrogen signaling in cells; and (4) the role of estrogen and its diverse metabolites on the susceptibility to, and progression of, PAH as well as their impact on right heart function.Item SOX17 Deficiency Mediates Pulmonary Hypertension: At the Crossroads of Sex, Metabolism, and Genetics(American Thoracic Society, 2023) Sangam, Shreya; Sun, Xutong; Schwantes-An, Tae-Hwi; Yegambaram, Manivannan; Lu, Qing; Shi, Yinan; Cook, Todd; Fisher, Amanda; Frump, Andrea L.; Coleman, Anna; Sun, Yanan; Liang, Shuxin; Crawford, Howard; Lutz, Katie A.; Maun, Avinash D.; Pauciulo, Michael W.; Karnes, Jason H.; Chaudhary, Ketul R.; Stewart, Duncan J.; Langlais, Paul R.; Jain, Mohit; Alotaibi, Mona; Lahm, Tim; Jin, Yan; Gu, Haiwei; Tang, Haiyang; Nichols, William C.; Black, Stephen M.; Desai, Ankit A.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineRationale: Genetic studies suggest that SOX17 (SRY-related HMG-box 17) deficiency increases pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) risk. Objectives: On the basis of pathological roles of estrogen and HIF2α (hypoxia-inducible factor 2α) signaling in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs), we hypothesized that SOX17 is a target of estrogen signaling that promotes mitochondrial function and attenuates PAH development via HIF2α inhibition. Methods: We used metabolic (Seahorse) and promoter luciferase assays in PAECs together with the chronic hypoxia murine model to test the hypothesis. Measurements and Main Results: Sox17 expression was reduced in PAH tissues (rodent models and from patients). Chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension was exacerbated by mice with conditional Tie2-Sox17 (Sox17EC-/-) deletion and attenuated by transgenic Tie2-Sox17 overexpression (Sox17Tg). On the basis of untargeted proteomics, metabolism was the top pathway altered by SOX17 deficiency in PAECs. Mechanistically, we found that HIF2α concentrations were increased in the lungs of Sox17EC-/- and reduced in those from Sox17Tg mice. Increased SOX17 promoted oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial function in PAECs, which were partly attenuated by HIF2α overexpression. Rat lungs in males displayed higher Sox17 expression versus females, suggesting repression by estrogen signaling. Supporting 16α-hydroxyestrone (16αOHE; a pathologic estrogen metabolite)-mediated repression of SOX17 promoter activity, Sox17Tg mice attenuated 16αOHE-mediated exacerbations of chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Finally, in adjusted analyses in patients with PAH, we report novel associations between a SOX17 risk variant, rs10103692, and reduced plasma citrate concentrations (n = 1,326). Conclusions: Cumulatively, SOX17 promotes mitochondrial bioenergetics and attenuates PAH, in part, via inhibition of HIF2α. 16αOHE mediates PAH development via downregulation of SOX17, linking sexual dimorphism and SOX17 genetics in PAH.