Background and aims: Diabetic atherosclerotic vascular disease is characterized by extensive vascular calcification. However, an elevated blood glucose level alone does not explain this pathogenesis. We investigated the metabolic markers underlying diabetic atherosclerosis and whether extracellular Hsp90α (eHsp90α) triggers vascular endothelial calcification in this particular metabolic environment.
Methods: A parallel human/animal model metabolomics approach was used. We analyzed 40 serum samples collected from 24 patients with atherosclerosis and from the STZ-induced ApoE-/- mouse model. A multivariate statistical analysis of the data was performed, and mouse aortic tissue was collected for the assessment of plaque formation. In vitro, the effects of eHsp90α on endothelial cell calcification were assessed by serum analysis, Western blotting and immunoelectron microscopy.
Results: Diabetic ApoE-/- mice showed more severe plaque lesions and calcification damage. Stearamide, oleamide, l-thyroxine, l-homocitrulline and l-citrulline are biomarkers of diabetic ASVD; l-thyroxine was downregulated in both groups, and the thyroid sensitivity index was correlated with serum Hsp90α concentration. In vitro studies showed that eHsp90α increased Runx2 expression in endothelial cells through the LRP1 receptor. l-thyroxine reduced the increase in Runx2 levels caused by eHsp90α and affected the distribution and expression of LRP1 through hydrogen bonding with glutamine at position 1054 in the extracellular segment of LRP1.
Conclusions: This study provides a mechanistic link between characteristic serum metabolites and diabetic atherosclerosis and thus offers new insight into the role of extracellular Hsp90α in promoting vascular calcification.
Keywords: Diabetic atherosclerotic vascular disease; Endothelial calcification; Extracellular Hsp90α; Parallel metabolic profiles; Thyroid hormone sensitivity.
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