Aortic & peripheral vascular disease
Spatial Transcriptional Mapping Reveals Site-Specific Pathways Underlying Human Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture
Authors' conclusion
Our findings show plaque site-specific transcriptional signatures associated with proximal rupture-prone regions of carotid atherosclerotic plaques.
Study context
- Population
- Human carotid atherosclerotic plaques
- Comparison
- Proximal and most stenotic vs distal plaque regions
- Outcome
- Location of plaque rupture and site-specific transcriptional pathways along the carotid plaque
Methodological detailsspatial transcriptomics, Mendelian randomization
- Spatial transcriptomics
- Mendelian randomization
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Ruptures predominantly in the proximal and most stenotic regions, not in the distal region
- Proximal and most stenotic regions showed features of plaque vulnerability and thrombosis on histology and electron microscopy
- Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) distinguishing proximal and most stenotic from distal regions were most relevant to atherosclerosis-associated diseases (heritability enrichment)
- Pathways of proximal rupture-prone regions validated by spatial transcriptomics
- Of 3 top DEGs, Mendelian randomization suggested high circulating MMP-9 levels causally associated with atherosclerosis risk
Original publication
Spatial Transcriptional Mapping Reveals Site-Specific Pathways Underlying Human Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 13 June 2023. doi:10.
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