Study on intercellular communication and key genes of smooth muscle cells in human coronary atherosclerosis based on single cell sequencing technology
SI Chunying,1,2, WANG Jianru2, LI Xiaohui,2, WANG Yongxia1,2, GUAN Huaimin2
1.The First Clinical Medical College (College of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine), Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450003, China
2.Heart Center/National Regional (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Treatment Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Objective ·To use single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) technology to interpret the cellular communication landscape of coronary atherosclerosis (CA), and to explore the dominant cell subsets and their key genes. Methods ·The GSE131778 data set was downloaded and preprocessed, and quality controlling, dimension reduction clustering and annotation were carried out. Then cell communication analysis was conducted by using CellChat package to identify dominant cell subsets. The FindAllMarker function was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the dominant cell subpopulation and other cell subpopulations, and its protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. The DEGs ranked in the top five of the Degree algorithm were taken as key genes. Then, the key genes were matched and mined with the cell communication network analyzed by CellChat to obtain the ligand-receptor pairs (L-R) and the signal pathways mediated by the key genes, and the results were visualized. At the same time, the atherosclerosis mouse model was constructed and RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of key genes in carotid atherosclerosis lesions. Results ·A total of 11 cell subsets were identified in CA lesions, including smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, macrophages, monocytes, etc. Cell communication results showed that CellChat detected 70 significant L-R and 26 related signal pathways in 11 cell subsets. Smooth muscle cell was the dominant cell subgroup with the most significant interaction frequency and intensity with other cell subgroups in the active state of communication. The results of DEGs screening showed that there were 206 DEGs between smooth muscle cell subsets and other cell subsets, among which ITGB2, PTPRC, CCL2, DCN and IGF1 were identified as key genes. The results of cell communication mediated by key genes showed that CCL2 and ACKR1 formed L-R and participated in the communication network between smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells through mediating CCL signaling pathway. ITGB2 formed receptor complexes withITGAM and ITGAX respectively, and then formed L-R with C3 to mediate the complement signal pathway, participating in the communication network among smooth muscle cells, macrophages and monocytes. The validation results of hub genes in animal experiments were consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis. Conclusion ·Smooth muscle cells are the dominant cells in the pathological process of CA, and have extensive communication networks with other cells. They can construct cellular communication networks with endothelial cells, macrophages and monocytes through CCL and complement signaling pathways mediated by CCL2-ACKR1, C3-(ITGAM+ITGB2) and C3-(ITGAX+ITGB2).
SI Chunying, WANG Jianru, LI Xiaohui, WANG Yongxia, GUAN Huaimin. Study on intercellular communication and key genes of smooth muscle cells in human coronary atherosclerosis based on single cell sequencing technology. Journal of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Medical Science)[J], 2024, 44(2): 169-182 doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8115.2024.02.003
利用FindAllMarker函数,以|log(fold change,FC)|>1和矫正后的P<0.05为标准,筛选主导细胞亚群与其他细胞亚群间的DEGs[13]。利用clusterProfiler包对DEGs进行基因本体论(Gene Ontology,GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes,KEGG)通路富集分析,并进行可视化。
Note:A. Number of cell genes in the sample. B. Number of transcript sequencing counts in the sample. C. The proportion of mitochondria in all the cells in the sample. D. The top 1 500 mutated genes with high intercellular standard deviation.
Fig1
Quality control results for samples from the GSE131778 dataset
Note:A.The distribution of cells in the sample in PC1 and PC2. B. P value for each PC. C. t-SNE plot of clustering distribution of 18 cell subpopulations. D. t-SNE diagram of the distribution of cell subpopulations after annotation. NK cell—nature killer cell; DC—dendritic cell.
Fig 2
Dimension reduction clustering and annotation results for samples in the GSE131778 dataset
Note:A.Communication network diagram of the number of interactions among different cell clusters. B.Communication network diagram of interaction strength among different cell clusters. C. Communication network diagram of the interaction strength between a single cell cluster and other clusters. The color of the dots represents different cell clusters. The size of the dots represents the number of cells contained in the cell cluster, and the larger the dots, the more cells there are. The line represents the interaction relationship among the clusters, and the color represents the signal sent from the cluster as the sender to the cluster as the receiver. The thickness of the line represents the number of interactions (strength) among the clusters, and the thicker the line, the more interactions (strength) there are.
Fig 3
Cellular communication network at CA lesions
Note:A.Volcano plot of DEGs in smooth muscle cells (dots represent genes, black represents genes with no differential expression, red represents upregulated DEGs, and blue represents downregulated DEGs). B. Bubble plots for GO enrichment analysis of DEGs. C. Circle diagram of KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs.
Fig 4
Screening of DEGs in smooth muscle cells and their enrichment analysis
Note: A. PPI network diagram of smooth muscle cell DEGs, with red circles representing upregulated DEGs and green triangles representing downregulated DEGs. B. PPI diagram of 5 hub genes. C. Circle diagram of chromosomal positions of hub genes. D. Bubble plot of 5 hub genes expressed in 11 clusters.
Fig 5
Results of screening for hub genes in smooth muscle cells
Note: A. Cellular communication network diagram mediated by CCL signaling pathway. B. Heat map of cell action types in the CCL signaling pathway. C. Bar chart of the contribution of L-R in the CCL signaling pathway. D. CCL2-ACKR1-mediated cellular communication network diagram. E. Cellular communication network diagram mediated by complement signaling pathway. F. Heat map of cellular action types in complement signaling pathways. G. Bar graph of the contribution of L-R in the complement signaling pathway. H. C3-(ITGAM+ITGB2)-mediated cellular communication network diagram. I. C3-(ITGAX+ITGB2)-mediated cellular communication network diagram.
SI Chunying proposed research ideas and framework, and wrote the paper. WANG Jianru was responsible for the experiment design.WANG Jianru and LI Xiaohui participated in data statistics and paper revision. WANG Yongxia and GUAN Huaimin guided the research and implementation.
利益冲突声明
所有作者声明不存在利益冲突。
COMPETING INTERESTS
All authors disclose no relevant conflict of interests.
HAO J H, LIN Z Y. Research progress of biomechanical factors related to coronary atherosclerosis[J]. Chinese Journal of Arteriosclerosis, 2020, 28(11): 1009-1012.
HOSEN M R, GOODY P R, ZIETZER A, et al. MicroRNAs as master regulators of atherosclerosis: from pathogenesis to novel therapeutic options[J]. Antioxid Redox Signal, 2020, 33(9): 621-644.
D'ASCENZO F, AGOSTONI P, ABBATE A, et al. Atherosclerotic coronary plaque regression and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events: a meta-regression of randomized clinical trials[J]. Atherosclerosis, 2013, 226(1): 178-185.
BERUMEN SÁNCHEZ G, BUNN K E, PUA H H, et al. Extracellular vesicles: mediators of intercellular communication in tissue injury and disease[J]. Cell Commun Signal, 2021, 19(1): 104.
WEN D, WANG X, CHEN R, et al. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the pathogenic relevance of intracranial atherosclerosis in blood blister-like aneurysms[J]. Front Immunol, 2022, 13: 927125.
JIN S, RAMOS R. Computational exploration of cellular communication in skin from emerging single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data[J]. Biochem Soc Trans, 2022, 50(1): 297-308.
COCHAIN C, VAFADARNEJAD E, ARAMPATZI P, et al. Single-cell RNA-seq reveals the transcriptional landscape and heterogeneity of aortic macrophages in murine atherosclerosis[J]. Circ Res, 2018, 122(12): 1661-1674.
WIRKA R C, WAGH D, PAIK D T, et al. Atheroprotective roles of smooth muscle cell phenotypic modulation and the TCF21 disease gene as revealed by single-cell analysis[J]. Nat Med, 2019, 25(8): 1280-1289.
TILLIE R J H A, VAN KUIJK K, SLUIMER J C. Fibroblasts in atherosclerosis: heterogeneous and plastic participants[J]. Curr Opin Lipidol, 2020, 31(5): 273-278.
WANG J R, LI X H. Screening of macrophage characteristic genes in carotid atherosclerosis by single-cell RNA sequencing[J]. Journal of Medical Graduate students, 2022, 35(10): 1014-1021.
WANG J R, ZHU M J, WANG Y X, et al. Study on the potential molecular mechanism of Qishenyiqi Dropping pills to improve myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technique[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2021, 36(7): 1537-1544.
CHEN X N, GE Q H, ZHAO Y X, et al.Effect of Simiao Yongan Decoction on macrophage foam cell formation in atherosclerosis[J].Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 2023, 43(6): 705-711.
XU H, NI Y Q, LIU Y S. Mechanisms of action of miRNAs and lncRNAs in extracellular vesicle in atherosclerosis[J]. Front Cardiovasc Med, 2021, 8: 733985.
RAMILOWSKI J A, GOLDBERG T, HARSHBARGER J, et al. A draft network of ligand-receptor-mediated multicellular signalling in human[J]. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7866.
EFREMOVA M, VENTO-TORMO M, TEICHMANN S A, et al. CellPhoneDB: inferring cell-cell communication from combined expression of multi-subunit ligand-receptor complexes[J]. Nat Protoc, 2020, 15(4): 1484-1506.
SHI X, GUO L W, SEEDIAL S M, et al. TGF-β/Smad3 inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis through an autocrine signaling mechanism involving VEGF-A[J]. Cell Death Dis, 2014, 5(7): e1317.
MERCHED A, TOLLEFSON K, CHAN L. β2 integrins modulate the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice[J]. Cardiovasc Res, 2010, 85(4): 853-863.
KANG S W, KIM M S, KIM H S, et al. Celastrol attenuates adipokine resistin-associated matrix interaction and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells[J]. J Cell Biochem, 2013, 114(2): 398-408.
WANG Y, SUN X Y, LUO Y, et al. Relationship between CD45 expression level and lesion structure in coronary artery plaque[J]. Chinese Journal of Arteriosclerosis, 2019, 27(2): 114-119, 140.
HU Y T, LIU H Z. Correlation analysis of peripheral blood CD45, HMGB1 and stent restenosis in patients with coronary heart disease[J]. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Medicine, 2022, 14(5): 581-584.
ZHU S, LIU M, BENNETT S, et al. The molecular structure and role of CCL2 (MCP-1) and C-C chemokine receptor CCR2 in skeletal biology and diseases[J]. J Cell Physiol, 2021, 236(10): 7211-7222.
OSONOI Y, MITA T, AZUMA K, et al. Defective autophagy in vascular smooth muscle cells enhances cell death and atherosclerosis[J]. Autophagy, 2018, 14(11): 1991-2006.
YU B, WONG M M, POTTER C M, et al. Vascular stem/progenitor cell migration induced by smooth muscle cell-derived chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 contributes to neointima formation[J]. Stem Cells, 2016, 34(9): 2368-2380.
SCHOBER A, ZERNECKE A, LIEHN E A, et al. Crucial role of the CCL2/CCR2 axis in neointimal hyperplasia after arterial injury in hyperlipidemic mice involves early monocyte recruitment and CCL2 presentation on platelets[J]. Circ Res, 2004, 95(11): 1125-1133.
AL HAJ ZEN A, CALIGIURI G, SAINZ J, et al. Decorin overexpression reduces atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice[J]. Atherosclerosis, 2006, 187(1): 31-39.
BURTON D G A, GILES P J, SHEERIN A N P, et al. Microarray analysis of senescent vascular smooth muscle cells: a link to atherosclerosis and vascular calcification[J]. Exp Gerontol, 2009, 44(10): 659-665.
FIERRO-MACÍAS A E, FLORIANO-SÁNCHEZ E, MENA-BURCIAGA V M, et al. Association between IGF system and PAPP-A in coronary atherosclerosis[J]. Arch Cardiol Mex, 2016, 86(2): 148-156.
CHONG H, WEI Z, NA M, et al. The PGC-1α/NRF1/miR-378a axis protects vascular smooth muscle cells from FFA-induced proliferation, migration and inflammation in atherosclerosis[J]. Atherosclerosis, 2020, 297: 136-145.
HERNÁNDEZ-AGUILERA A, FIBLA M, CABRÉ N, et al. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 and coronary artery disease: tissue expression of functional and atypical receptors[J]. Cytokine, 2020, 126: 154923.
SINGH S R, SUTCLIFFE A, KAUR D, et al. CCL2 release by airway smooth muscle is increased in asthma and promotes fibrocyte migration[J]. Allergy, 2014, 69(9): 1189-1197.
GIRBL T, LENN T, PEREZ L, et al. Distinct compartmentalization of the chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL2 and the atypical receptor ACKR1 determine discrete stages of neutrophil diapedesis[J]. Immunity, 2018, 49(6): 1062-1076.e6.
LIAO Z, JIN Y, CHU Y, et al. Single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals aberrant stromal cells and heterogeneous endothelial cells in alcohol-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head[J]. Commun Biol, 2022, 5(1): 324.
LIU A T, PENG K, OU L Y, et al. Research progress on the role of complement system in atherosclerosis[J]. Chinese Journal of Arteriosclerosis, 2021, 29(4): 363-368.
WAN J X, FUKUDA N, ENDO M, et al. Complement 3 is involved in changing the phenotype of human glomerular mesangial cells[J]. J Cell Physiol, 2007, 213(2): 495-501.
BUYANNEMEKH D, NHAM S U. Characterization of αX Ⅰ-domain binding to receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)[J]. Mol Cells, 2017, 40(5): 355-362.
YAKUBENKO V P, BHATTACHARJEE A, PLUSKOTA E, et al. αMβ2 integrin activation prevents alternative activation of human and murine macrophages and impedes foam cell formation[J]. Circ Res, 2011, 108(5): 544-554.
WANG M, GU M, LIU L, et al. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in cardiac tissue: applications and limitations[J]. Vasc Health Risk Manag, 2021, 17: 641-657.
... 利用FindAllMarker函数,以|log(fold change,FC)|>1和矫正后的P<0.05为标准,筛选主导细胞亚群与其他细胞亚群间的DEGs[13].利用clusterProfiler包对DEGs进行基因本体论(Gene Ontology,GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes,KEGG)通路富集分析,并进行可视化. ...
... 利用FindAllMarker函数,以|log(fold change,FC)|>1和矫正后的P<0.05为标准,筛选主导细胞亚群与其他细胞亚群间的DEGs[13].利用clusterProfiler包对DEGs进行基因本体论(Gene Ontology,GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes,KEGG)通路富集分析,并进行可视化. ...