Javeed, Naureen

Abstract Rationale Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, chronic autoimmune disease characterized by vasculopathy and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Among its manifestations, interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of mortality, yet its clinical course is variable, ranging from stable to progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF). The 2022 ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT guidelines defined progressive PPF as a phenotype of non- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) - ILDs that behave similarly to IPF. Although a subset of SSc-ILD patients develop PPF, biomarkers predicting progression remain lacking. We and others have shown that endothelial dysfunction contributes to the progression of fibrotic lung disease, and that the pulmonary vasculature, continuously exposed to the bloodstream, is influenced by soluble circulating factors, including circulating extracellular vesicles (cEVs), which carry bioactive cargo capable of modulating endothelial behavior. Here, we investigated whether cEVs from SSc patients with distinct fibrotic phenotypes differentially influence human lung endothelial cells (ECs), promoting a pro-fibrotic endothelial phenotype. Methods plasma samples were collected from five groups: 1) Healthy controls (n = 4); 2) SSc-noILD (no high-resolution-CT (HCRT( or functional evidence of ILD at time of enrollment, n = 4); 3) SSc-ILD (HCRT and functional evidence of ILD without meeting the PPF criteria at time of sampling, n = 3); 4) SSc-PPF (meeting the PPF criteria, plasma collected prior to anti-fibrotic therapy, n = 4); 5) IPF (plasma collected prior to anti-fibrotic therapy, n = 3). cEVs were isolated using size-exclusion-chromatography and characterized using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). Human lung ECs were treated with cEVs from the five groups (2x109 particles/ml, 48 hours), followed by qPCR for markers selected for their established involvement in endothelial dysfunction during lung fibrotic progression. Results NTA showed no significant differences in plasma cEV concentrations across the five groups. Human lung ECs exposed to cEVs from SSc or SSc-ILD patients exhibited no significant gene expression changes compared to healthy controls. In contrast, cEVs from SSc-PPF patients markedly downregulated endothelial identity (PECAM1, ERG, TEK), barrier integrity (CDH13, S1PR1), and basement membrane (COL4A1, HSPG2) genes, similarly to changes induced by cEVs from IPF patients. Conclusion cEVs from SSc-PPF patients induce pro-fibrotic transcriptional changes in lung ECs resembling those induced by IPF cEVs and distinct from SSc-ILD cEVs, suggesting that EVs carry cargo that both reflect and influence fibrosis progression. These findings highlight the potential of cEVs as biomarkers for identifying SSC-ILD patients at risk of progression and highlight the clinical relevance of future studies aimed at characterizing their cargo. This abstract is funded by: James Depauw Grant for Pilot Projects

This study demonstrates that circulating extracellular vesicles (cEVs) isolated from young mice reverse the transcriptional alterations of the aged mouse pulmonary vasculature, leading to a more youthful endothelial transcriptional phenotype. As a result of this vascular phenotype, aged mice are protected from bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting vascular aging to alleviate pulmonary fibrosis.

Abstract Chronically elevated circulating excess free fatty acids (ie, lipotoxicity) is a pathological process implicated in several metabolic disorders, including obesity-driven type 2 diabetes (T2D). Lipotoxicity exerts detrimental effects on pancreatic islet β-cells by reducing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), altering β-cell transcriptional identity, and promoting apoptosis. While β-cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEV) have been shown to contribute to β-cell failure in T2D, their specific role in lipotoxicity-mediated β-cell failure remains to be elucidated. In this work, we demonstrate that lipotoxicity enhances the release of sEVs from β-cells, which exhibit altered proteomic and lipidomic profiles. These palmitate (PAL)-exposed extracellular vesicles (EVs) induce β-cell dysfunction in healthy mouse and human islets and trigger significant islet transcriptional changes, including the upregulation of genes associated with the TGFβ/Smad3 pathway, as noted by RNA sequencing. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of the TGFβI/II receptor improved PAL EV-induced β-cell dysfunction, underscoring their involvement in activating the TGFβ/Smad3 pathway during this process. We have comprehensively characterized lipotoxic β-cell sEVs and implicated their role in inducing β-cell functional failure in T2D. These findings highlight potential avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting sEV-mediated pathways to preserve β-cell health in metabolic disorders.

Abstract Disclosure: A. Roy: None. G. Ariyaratne: None. A. Matveyenko: None. N. Javeed: None. Diabetogenic stressors including elevated free fatty acids (lipotoxicity), low-grade systemic inflammation, and proteotoxicity are central to the development of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Due to their high protein synthetic burden, β-cells employ autophagy and endo/lysosomal pathways to reduce protein aggregates, and protect β-cell mass and function. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs; 30-150 nm sized nanoparticles) have been shown to work in tandem with autophagy to facilitate cellular adaptation and intercellular communication. As diabetogenic stressors have been shown to perturb autophagy via lysosomal defects, our group has noted enhanced EV secretion. Thus, we hypothesize that diabetogenic factors enhance EV secretion through activation of an EV-based secretory autophagy pathway and that re-balancing of both pathways could improve β-cell function in T2D. To test this, MIN6 cells were exposed to free fatty acid palmitate (PAL; 24h), or pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNFα, and IFNγ (CYTO; 48h). Expression of autophagic markers, LC3 and p62 were increased in CYTO and PAL conditions suggesting defects in auto/lysosomal function. Upon PAL/CYTO treatment in MIN6 cells, conditioned media EVs were isolated using differential ultracentrifugation. We noted enhanced protein expression of LC3-II and p62 in PAL- and cytoEVs, suggesting a diversion of immature autophagosome components into EVs due to lysosomal inhibition. To restore balance between autophagy:EV flux, we used EV biogenesis inhibitor, GW4869 (GW; 24h) or autophagy inducer, rapamycin (Rapa; 24h) on MIN6 cells exposed to PAL or CYTO. Isolated EVs were subjected to Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) which showed a significant reduction in EV concentration with GW or Rapa addition (p<.05). Isolated mouse islet exposed to CYTO+GW/Rapa or PAL+GW/Rapa showed significant improvements in glucose stimulated insulin secretion (vs. CYTO or PAL; p<.05). Taken together, these data implicate activation of EV-based secretory autophagy in response to diabetogenic stressors and thus, potential targets to improve functional β-cell mass. Presentation: 6/2/2024

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators of cell–cell communication and are involved in transferring specific biomolecular cargo to recipient cells to regulate their physiological functions. A major challenge in the understanding of EV function in vivo is the difficulty ascertaining the origin of the EV particles. The recent development of the “Snorkel-tag,” which includes EV-membrane-targeted CD81 fused to a series of extra-vesicular protein tags, can be used to mark EVs originating from a specific source for subsequent isolation and characterization. We developed an in vivo mouse model, termed “CAGS-Snorkel,” which expresses the Snorkel-tag under the control of the Cre-lox system, and crossed this mouse with either Prx1-Cre (mesenchymal progenitors) or Ocn-Cre (osteoblasts/osteocytes) and isolated Snorkel-tagged EVs from the mouse bone marrow plasma using a magnetic bead affinity column. miRNA-sequencing was performed on the isolated EVs, and although similar profiles were observed, a few key miRNAs involved in bone metabolism (miR-106b-5p, miRs-19b-3p, and miRs-219a-5p) were enriched in the Ocn-derived relative to the Prx1-derived EV subpopulations. To characterize the effects of these small EVs on a bone cell target, cultured mouse bone marrow stromal cells were treated with Prx1 or Ocn EVs, and mRNA-sequencing was performed. Pathways involved in ossification, bone development, and extracellular matrix interactions were regulated by both EV subpopulations, whereas a few pathways including advanced glycation end-products signaling were uniquely regulated in the Ocn EV subpopulation, underlying important biological effects of specific EV subpopulations within the bone marrow microenvironment. These data demonstrate that EV isolation in vivo using the CAGS-Snorkel mouse model is a useful tool in characterizing the cargo and understanding the biology of tissue-specific EVs. Moreover, while bone mesenchymal cell populations share a common EV secretory profile, we uncover key differences based on the stage of osteoblastic differentiation that may have important biological consequences.

Time-restricted feeding improves glucose homeostasis through epigenetic control of pancreatic β cell function.

Dysregulation of glucose homeostasis in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is attributed to pancreatic β‐cell failure in maintaining adequate glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) to compensate for diminished insulin action. Recent single cell transcriptomics studies of human pancreatic islets have identified Slc4a4 (encoding an electrogenic Na + ‐nHCO 3 − cotransporter, NBCe1) as a gene repressed in healthy non‐diabetic β‐cells, but expressed in human T2DM β‐cells. However the role of Slc4a4 /NBCe1 in pancreatic β‐cell function remains unknown. Thus, in the current study we set out to test the hypothesis that mis‐expression of Slc4a4 in β‐cells contributes to loss of GSIS and impaired glucose homeostasis in T2DM. Subsequently, we first assessed Slc4a4 mRNA expression in isolated human islets (Control vs. T2DM) by qPCR and quantified NBCe1 protein expression by immunofluorescence in autopsy‐derived human pancreas tissue (Control vs. T2DM). We observed a 4‐fold induction in Slc4a4 mRNA expression in T2DM islets compared to non‐diabetic controls ( p =0.004 vs. Control) and significantly increased NBCe1 co‐localization with insulin‐positive β‐cells of T2DM patients compared to controls ( p <0.001 vs. Control). In addition, we also demonstrated that chronic inhibition of NBCe1 activity using the channel specific inhibitor (S0859) significantly enhanced GSIS in islets isolated from T2DM patients (~1.5‐fold increase vs. untreated, p =0.006). To delineate the role NBCe1 plays on β‐cell function in vivo , we generated β‐cell specific knockout ( β‐Slc4a4 −/− ) mice by crossing Slc4a4 fl/fl (G. Shull, UC) and Ins2‐Cre mouse models. We confirmed >50% reduction in Slc4a4 mRNA expression in β‐Slc4a4 −/− islets and complete ablation of NBCe1 protein expression. In order to model the environmental stress that leads to metabolic defects common to T2DM, we exposed β‐Slc4a4 −/− mice and control littermates to either standard chow diet or 60% high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks ad libitum . Under chow‐fed conditions, β‐Slc4a4 −/− mice displayed normal glucose tolerance ( p >0.05 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ Chow). Interestingly, β‐Slc4a4 −/− mice exposed to HFD exhibited enhanced glucose tolerance and GSIS ( p <0.05 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ HFD) and thus were protected from development of T2DM phenotype characteristics of HFD treatment. Finally, to understand the mechanism by which Slc4a4 deletion enhanced β‐cell function, we performed RNA‐sequencing on islets isolated from β‐Slc4a4 −/− and β‐Slc4a4 +/+ mice exposed to chow diet or HFD. Notably, gene‐set enrichment analysis of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) defined biological pathways revealed that Slc4a4 deletion enriched genes associated with the cell cycle ( p <0.001 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ Chow; p <0.001 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ HFD), while suppressing genes associated with apoptosis ( p =0.002 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ Chow; p =0.004 vs. β‐Slc4a4 +/+ HFD) in the presence of both chow diet and HFD. These result suggest that mis‐expression of Slc4a4 plays a novel role in the induction of β‐cell failure in T2DM. Future studies will delineate exact molecular mechanisms underlying NBCe1‐mediated regulation of β‐cell function in health and under conditions of metabolic stress. Support or Funding Information Mayo Clinic Center of Biomedical Discovery This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .

Abstract Intrinsic β-cell circadian clocks are important regulators of insulin secretion and overall glucose homeostasis. Whether the circadian clock in β-cells is perturbed following exposure to prodiabetogenic stressors such as proinflammatory cytokines, and whether these perturbations are featured during the development of diabetes, remains unknown. To address this, we examined the effects of cytokine-mediated inflammation common to the pathophysiology of diabetes, on the physiological and molecular regulation of the β-cell circadian clock. Specifically, we provide evidence that the key diabetogenic cytokine IL-1β disrupts functionality of the β-cell circadian clock and impairs circadian regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The deleterious effects of IL-1β on the circadian clock were attributed to impaired expression of key circadian transcription factor Bmal1, and its regulator, the NAD-dependent deacetylase, Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Moreover, we also identified that Type 2 diabetes in humans is associated with reduced immunoreactivity of β-cell BMAL1 and SIRT1, suggestive of a potential causative link between islet inflammation, circadian clock disruption, and β-cell failure. These data suggest that the circadian clock in β-cells is perturbed following exposure to proinflammatory stressors and highlights the potential for therapeutic targeting of the circadian system for treatment for β-cell failure in diabetes.