Cell and Molecular Biology Department, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Department of Physiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, and.
JCI Insight. 2022 Oct 10;7(19):e154379. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.154379.
The (Pro)renin receptor ([P]RR), also known as ATP6AP2, is a single-transmembrane protein that is implicated in a multitude of biological processes. However, the exact role of ATP6AP2 during blood vessel development remains largely undefined. Here, we use an inducible endothelial cell-specific (EC-specific) Atp6ap2-KO mouse model to investigate the role of ATP6AP2 during both physiological and pathological angiogenesis in vivo. We observed that postnatal deletion of Atp6ap2 in ECs results in cell migration defects, loss of tip cell polarity, and subsequent impairment of retinal angiogenesis. In vitro, Atp6ap2-deficient ECs similarly displayed reduced cell migration, impaired sprouting, and defective cell polarity. Transcriptional profiling of ECs isolated from Atp6ap2 mutant mice further indicated regulatory roles in angiogenesis, cell migration, and extracellular matrix composition. Mechanistically, we provided evidence that expression of various extracellular matrix components is controlled by ATP6AP2 via the ERK pathway. Furthermore, Atp6ap2-deficient retinas exhibited reduced revascularization in an oxygen-induced retinopathy model. Collectively, our results demonstrate a critical role of ATP6AP2 as a regulator of developmental and pathological angiogenesis.
(前)肾素受体 ([P]RR),也称为 ATP6AP2,是一种单跨膜蛋白,参与多种生物学过程。然而,ATP6AP2 在血管发育过程中的确切作用在很大程度上还未确定。在这里,我们使用一种可诱导的内皮细胞特异性 (EC 特异性) Atp6ap2-KO 小鼠模型来研究 ATP6AP2 在体内生理和病理血管生成中的作用。我们观察到,内皮细胞中 ATP6AP2 的后天缺失导致细胞迁移缺陷、尖端细胞极性丧失,随后视网膜血管生成受损。在体外,Atp6ap2 缺陷型 ECs 同样表现出细胞迁移减少、发芽受损和细胞极性缺陷。从 Atp6ap2 突变小鼠中分离出的 ECs 的转录谱分析进一步表明了其在血管生成、细胞迁移和细胞外基质组成中的调控作用。从机制上讲,我们提供了证据表明,各种细胞外基质成分的表达受 ERK 通路调控。此外,在氧诱导的视网膜病变模型中,Atp6ap2 缺陷型视网膜表现出血管再生成减少。总之,我们的研究结果表明,ATP6AP2 作为发育和病理血管生成的调节剂具有重要作用。