FBLN7基因敲除通过促进TGFBR3/ALK1/Smad1信号传导和抑制心脏成纤维细胞的促纤维化表型来减轻与年龄相关的心脏纤维化。
FBLN7 KO attenuates age-related cardiac fibrosis by promoting TGFBR3/ALK1/Smad1 signaling and inhibiting the profibrotic phenotypes of cardiac fibroblasts.
作者信息
Zheng Xuehui, Yao Guoqing, Yu Huaitao, Kong Binghui, Zhao Yuan, Hu Yang, Ma Xiangping, Hai Jinghan, Xu Panpan, Ti Yun, Bu Peili
机构信息
State Key Laboratory for Innovation and Transformation of Luobing Theory; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research of MOE, NHC, CAMS and Shandong Province; Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China, 250012.
出版信息
Theranostics. 2025 Jul 28;15(16):8531-8552. doi: 10.7150/thno.116477. eCollection 2025.
Aging induces structural and functional changes in the heart, including left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, a decline in diastolic function, and even heart failure. Fibulin 7 (FBLN7) is a key mediator of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling under pathological conditions. In our study, we aim to explore whether FBLN7 is also involved in the development of age-related cardiac fibrosis and its underlying mechanisms. We generated naturally aged FBLN7 knockout and wild-type mice (18 months old). Western blot and immunofluorescence assays were employed to investigate the biological function of FBLN7 in senescent cardiac fibroblasts. The interaction between FBLN7 and cell membrane receptors was explored through molecular docking and co-immunoprecipitation techniques. The interaction between FBLN7 and natural products was explored through virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Our results demonstrated that the cardioprotective effects observed in aged FBLN7 knockout (KO) mice are mediated by the inhibition of profibrotic phenotypes in senescent cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), which reduces age-related myocardial fibrosis and ultimately improves cardiac diastolic function. The observation that overexpressing FBLN7 in fibroblast-specific protein 1 positive (FSP1) cells of aged mice exacerbates age-related myocardial fibrosis further supports this finding. Mechanistically, we identified that FBLN7 promotes the proliferation, migration, actin remodeling, and collagen production of senescent CFs at least partially by binding to TGFBR3 and reducing its protein levels, thereby inhibiting the activation of the ALK1-Smad1/5/9 pathway. Additionally, we identified a natural product, Ginsenoside Ro, that physically interacts with FBLN7 and validated its antifibrotic activity both in vitro and in vivo. These findings reveal FBLN7 reverses the impaired profibrotic phenotypes of senescent CFs, thereby aggravating age-related cardiac fibrosis. Given that age-related fibrosis is a significant pathological factor in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), downregulating FBLN7 and/or interfering with its function may represent an effective therapeutic strategy for HFpEF.
衰老会引发心脏的结构和功能变化,包括左心室肥厚、舒张功能下降,甚至心力衰竭。纤连蛋白7(FBLN7)是病理条件下细胞外基质(ECM)重塑的关键介质。在我们的研究中,我们旨在探讨FBLN7是否也参与与年龄相关的心脏纤维化的发展及其潜在机制。我们构建了自然衰老的FBLN7基因敲除小鼠和野生型小鼠(18月龄)。采用蛋白质免疫印迹法和免疫荧光法研究FBLN7在衰老心脏成纤维细胞中的生物学功能。通过分子对接和免疫共沉淀技术探索FBLN7与细胞膜受体之间的相互作用。通过虚拟筛选、分子动力学模拟和表面等离子体共振(SPR)探索FBLN7与天然产物之间的相互作用。我们的结果表明,在衰老的FBLN7基因敲除(KO)小鼠中观察到的心脏保护作用是通过抑制衰老心脏成纤维细胞(CFs)中的促纤维化表型介导的,这减少了与年龄相关的心肌纤维化,并最终改善了心脏舒张功能。在老年小鼠的成纤维细胞特异性蛋白1阳性(FSP1)细胞中过表达FBLN7会加剧与年龄相关的心肌纤维化这一观察结果进一步支持了这一发现。从机制上讲,我们发现FBLN7至少部分通过与TGFBR3结合并降低其蛋白水平来促进衰老CFs的增殖、迁移、肌动蛋白重塑和胶原蛋白生成,从而抑制ALK1-Smad1/5/9通路的激活。此外,我们鉴定出一种天然产物人参皂苷Ro,它与FBLN7发生物理相互作用,并在体外和体内验证了其抗纤维化活性。这些发现揭示FBLN7逆转了衰老CFs受损的促纤维化表型,从而加重了与年龄相关的心脏纤维化。鉴于与年龄相关的纤维化是射血分数保留的心力衰竭(HFpEF)的一个重要病理因素,下调FBLN7和/或干扰其功能可能是HFpEF的一种有效治疗策略。
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