Transcriptomic-based clustering of human atherosclerotic plaques identifies subgroups with different underlying biology and clinical presentation
Mokry, Michal; Boltjes, Arjan; Slenders, Lotte; Bel-Bordes, Gemma; Cui, Kai; Brouwer, Eli; Mekke, Joost M.; Depuydt, Marie A. C.; Timmerman, Nathalie; Waissi, Farahnaz; Verwer, Maarten C.; Turner, Adam W.; Khan, Mohammad Daud; Hodonsky, Chani J.; Diez Benavente, Ernest; Hartman, Robin J. G.; van den Dungen, Noortje A. M.; Lansu, Nico; Nagyova, Emilia; Prange, Koen H. M.; Kovacic, Jason C.; Björkegren, Johan L. M.; Pavlos, Eleftherios; Andreakos, Evangelos; Schunkert, Heribert; Owens, Gary K.; Monaco, Claudia; Finn, Aloke V.; Virmani, Renu; Leeper, Nicholas J.; de Winther, Menno P. J.; Kuiper, Johan; de Borst, Gert J.; Stroes, Erik S. G.; Civelek, Mete; de Kleijn, Dominique P. V.; den Ruijter, Hester M.; Asselbergs, Folkert W.; van der Laan, Sander W.; Miller, Clint L.; Pasterkamp, Gerard
(2022) Nature Cardiovascular Research, volume 1, issue 12, pp. 1140 - 1155
(Article)
Abstract
Histopathological studies have revealed key processes of atherosclerotic plaque thrombosis. However, the diversity and complexity of lesion types highlight the need for improved subphenotyping. Here, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of 654 advanced human carotid plaques. The unsupervised, transcriptome-driven clustering revealed five dominant plaque types. These plaque phenotypes were
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associated with clinical presentation and showed differences in cellular compositions. Validation in coronary segments showed that the molecular signature of these plaques was linked to coronary ischemia. One of the plaque types with the most severe clinical symptoms pointed to both inflammatory and fibrotic cell lineages. Furthermore, we did a preliminary analysis of potential circulating biomarkers that mark the different plaque phenotypes. In conclusion, the definition of the plaque at risk for a thrombotic event can be fine-tuned by in-depth transcriptomic-based phenotyping. These differential plaque phenotypes prove clinically relevant for both carotid and coronary artery plaques and point to distinct underlying biology of symptomatic lesions.
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Keywords: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous), Cell Biology, Medicine (miscellaneous), Journal Article
ISSN: 2731-0590
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
(Peer reviewed)