Volume 2 Issue 5, May 2023

Statins exert cardiovascular protective effects that are independent of cholesterol lowering. Using endothelial cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, Liu et al. show that statins can improve endothelial dysfunction by inhibiting endothelial–mesenchymal transition via epigenetic regulation of the GGTase–RhoA–YAP1–SOX9 signaling pathway.

Our work defines three-dimensional atlases that illustrate the morphological and molecular heterogeneity of the mouse nasal vasculature and lymphatic system. The unique features of these vessels offer insights into their associations with nasal inflammation, infection and aging.

Lopaschuk and Dyck review the bioenergetic and signaling effects of ketones on the cardiovascular system and discuss the potential application of ketones for treating cardiovascular diseases.

The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 9/10 receptor, ALK1, was recently shown to mediate LDL entry and transcytosis in endothelial cells. Here, Lee et al. show that genetic ablation of arterial endothelial ALK1 in mice limits atherosclerosis without affecting cholesterol or triglyceride levels and that a monoclonal antibody binding ALK1 efficiently blocks LDL transcytosis, but not BMP9 signaling, leading to a reduction in plaque burden.

Hong et al. provide three-dimensional morphologic and molecular atlases of the mouse and human nasal vasculature by combining immunofluorescence staining of whole-mounted nasal mucosal tissue with single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of isolated endothelial cells. The data show a complex network of venous sinusoids, embryologically derived from blood vessels but lined by endothelial cells expressing the lymphatic marker Prox1, which were regressed or compromised in mouse models of rhinitis and COVID-19 infection.

Liu et al. show that statin enhances cardiovascular disease protection through epigenetic modulation of YAP–SOX9 signaling, improving endothelial function and offering new therapeutic strategies.