“These cells could help us uncover potential drugs to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases by targeting these molecular changes,” said Dr. William StanfordAging is inevitable, but a study in Aging Cell suggests cardiovascular disease might not be. Arteries harden and accumulate plaque with age, but the molecular mechanisms behind these changes are not well understood. 

Dr. William Stanford and Dr. Michael J. Hendzel led a study that monitored the molecular changes in human blood vessel wall cells as they aged in a lab. To study the aging process, cells were generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that came from people with a rapid aging condition called Progeria. 

The team found that an epigenetic change to the cell’s genetic material (a decrease in histone H4K16 acetylation) played a key role in the hardening of arteries. They confirmed this molecular change also happens in the blood vessel wall cells of people with cardiovascular disease.

“These cells could help us uncover potential drugs to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases by targeting these molecular changes,” said Dr. Stanford, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair, Integrative Stem Cell Biology.

Authors: Mzwanele Ngubo, Zhaoyi Chen, Darin McDonald, Rana Karimpour, Amit Shrestha, Julien Yockell-Lelièvre, Aurélie Laurent, Ojong Tabi Ojong Besong, Eve C. Tsai, F. Jeffrey Dilworth, Michael J. Hendzel, William L. Stanford.

Funding: This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the uOttawa Department of Surgery

Core Resources: OHRI Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility, OHRI Proteomics Core Facility, OHRI High Content Imaging Core, StemCore Laboratories, Cross Cancer Institute Cell Imaging Facility

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.