Comparative Transcriptomics of Ex Vivo, Patient-Derived Endothelial Cells Reveals Novel Pathways Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

• Main Authors: Joshua A. Beckman, MD, Sean P. Doherty, BA, Zachary B. Feldman, BA, Emily S. Banks, BS, Javid Moslehi, MD, Iris Z. Jaffe, MD, PhD, Naomi M. Hamburg, MD, Quanhu Sheng, PhD, Jonathan D. Brown, MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-09-01
• Series: JACC: Basic to Translational Science
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452302X19301810

Summary: In this study low-input RNA-sequencing was used to annotate the molecular identity of endothelial cells isolated and immunopurified with CD144 microbeads. Using this technique, comparative gene expression profiling from healthy subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus identified both known and novel pathways linked with EC dysfunction. Modeling of diabetes by treating cultured ECs with high glucose identified shared changes in gene expression in diabetic cells. Overall, the data demonstrate how purified ECs from patients can be used to generate new hypotheses about mechanisms of human vascular disease. Key Words: endothelial cells, gene expression, diabetes mellitus, endothelial cell dysfunction