The pulmonary vasculature in lethal COVID-19 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at single-cell resolution

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F86652036%3A_____%2F23%3A00573066" target="_blank" >RIV/86652036:_____/23:00573066 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/119/2/520/6673943?login=true" target="_blank" >https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/119/2/520/6673943?login=true</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac139" target="_blank" >10.1093/cvr/cvac139</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The pulmonary vasculature in lethal COVID-19 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at single-cell resolution

Original language description

Aims Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection causes COVID-19, which in severe cases evokes life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Transcriptome signatures and the functional relevance of non-vascular cell types (e.g. immune and epithelial cells) in COVID-19 are becoming increasingly evident. However, despite its known contribution to vascular inflammation, recruitment/invasion of immune cells, vascular leakage, and perturbed haemostasis in the lungs of severe COVID-19 patients, an in-depth interrogation of the endothelial cell (EC) compartment in lethal COVID-19 is lacking. Moreover, progressive fibrotic lung disease represents one of the complications of COVID-19 pneumonia and ARDS. Analogous features between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and COVID-19 suggest partial similarities in their pathophysiology, yet, a head-to-head comparison of pulmonary cell transcriptomes between both conditions has not been implemented to date. Methods and results We performed single-nucleus RNA-sequencing on frozen lungs from 7 deceased COVID-19 patients, 6 IPF explant lungs, and 12 controls. The vascular fraction, comprising 38 794 nuclei, could be subclustered into 14 distinct EC subtypes. Non-vascular cell types, comprising 137 746 nuclei, were subclustered and used for EC-interactome analyses. Pulmonary ECs of deceased COVID-19 patients showed an enrichment of genes involved in cellular stress, as well as signatures suggestive of dampened immunomodulation and impaired vessel wall integrity. In addition, increased abundance of a population of systemic capillary and venous ECs was identified in COVID-19 and IPF. COVID-19 systemic ECs closely resembled their IPF counterparts, and a set of 30 genes was found congruently enriched in systemic ECs across studies. Receptor-ligand interaction analysis of ECs with non-vascular cell types in the pulmonary micro-environment revealed numerous previously unknown interactions specifically enriched/depleted in COVID-19 and/or IPF. Conclusions This study uncovered novel insights into the abundance, expression patterns, and interactomes of EC subtypes in COVID-19 and IPF, relevant for future investigations into the progression and treatment of both lethal conditions.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

30201 - Cardiac and Cardiovascular systems

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Cardiovascular Research

ISSN

0008-6363

e-ISSN

1755-3245

Volume of the periodical

119

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

16

Pages from-to

520-535

UT code for WoS article

000851345400001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85146726445