TY - JOUR
T1 - Aging Is Associated With Organ-Specific Alterations in the Level and Expression Pattern of von Willebrand Factor
AU - Alavi, Parnian
AU - Yousef Abdualla, Radya
AU - Brown, Douglas
AU - Mojiri, Anahita
AU - Nagendran, Jayan
AU - Lewis, John
AU - Bourque, Stephane L.
AU - Jahroudi, Nadia
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant (NSERC-DG) RGPIN-2019-04903 (N. Jahroudi), the University Hospital Foundation Marshall Eliuk Grant (N. Jahroudi), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant PS178007 (S.L. Bourque).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/11/1
Y1 - 2023/11/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: VWF (von Willebrand factor) is an endothelial-specific procoagulant protein with a major role in thrombosis. Aging is associated with increased circulating levels of VWF, which presents a risk factor for thrombus formation. METHODS: Circulating plasma, cellular protein, and mRNA levels of VWF were determined and compared in young and aged mice. Major organs were subjected to immunofluorescence analyses to determine the vascular pattern of VWF expression and the presence of platelet aggregates. An in vitro model of aging, using extended culture time of endothelial cells, was used to explore the mechanism of age-associated increased VWF levels. RESULTS: Increased circulating plasma levels of VWF with elevated levels of larger multimers, indicative of VWF functional activity, were observed in aged mice. VWF mRNA and cellular protein levels were significantly increased in the brains, lungs, and livers but not in the kidneys and hearts of aged mice. Higher proportion of small vessels in brains, lungs, and livers of aged mice exhibited VWF expression compared with young, and this was concomitant with increased platelet aggregate formation. Prolonged culture of endothelial cells resulted in increased cell senescence that correlated with increased VWF expression; VWF expression was specifically detected in senescent cultured endothelial cells and abolished in response to p53 knockdown. A significantly higher proportion of VWF expressing endothelial cells in vivo exhibited senescence markers SA-β-Gal (senescence-associated β-galactosidase) and p53 in aged mouse brains compared with that of the young. CONCLUSIONS: Aging elicits a heterogenic response in endothelial cells with regard to VWF expression, leading to organ-specific increase in VWF levels and alterations in vascular tree pattern of expression. This is concomitant with increased platelet aggregate formation. The age-associated increase in VWF expression may be modulated through the process of cell senescence, and p53 transcription factor contributes to its regulation.
AB - BACKGROUND: VWF (von Willebrand factor) is an endothelial-specific procoagulant protein with a major role in thrombosis. Aging is associated with increased circulating levels of VWF, which presents a risk factor for thrombus formation. METHODS: Circulating plasma, cellular protein, and mRNA levels of VWF were determined and compared in young and aged mice. Major organs were subjected to immunofluorescence analyses to determine the vascular pattern of VWF expression and the presence of platelet aggregates. An in vitro model of aging, using extended culture time of endothelial cells, was used to explore the mechanism of age-associated increased VWF levels. RESULTS: Increased circulating plasma levels of VWF with elevated levels of larger multimers, indicative of VWF functional activity, were observed in aged mice. VWF mRNA and cellular protein levels were significantly increased in the brains, lungs, and livers but not in the kidneys and hearts of aged mice. Higher proportion of small vessels in brains, lungs, and livers of aged mice exhibited VWF expression compared with young, and this was concomitant with increased platelet aggregate formation. Prolonged culture of endothelial cells resulted in increased cell senescence that correlated with increased VWF expression; VWF expression was specifically detected in senescent cultured endothelial cells and abolished in response to p53 knockdown. A significantly higher proportion of VWF expressing endothelial cells in vivo exhibited senescence markers SA-β-Gal (senescence-associated β-galactosidase) and p53 in aged mouse brains compared with that of the young. CONCLUSIONS: Aging elicits a heterogenic response in endothelial cells with regard to VWF expression, leading to organ-specific increase in VWF levels and alterations in vascular tree pattern of expression. This is concomitant with increased platelet aggregate formation. The age-associated increase in VWF expression may be modulated through the process of cell senescence, and p53 transcription factor contributes to its regulation.
KW - aging
KW - endothelial cells
KW - gene expression
KW - platelet aggregation
KW - risk factors
KW - von Willebrand factor
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U2 - 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319255
DO - 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319255
M3 - Article
C2 - 37732483
AN - SCOPUS:85175269588
SN - 1079-5642
VL - 43
SP - 2183
EP - 2196
JO - Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
JF - Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
IS - 11
ER -