Exploring the Role of Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Coronary Artery Disease From the Difference of Gene Expression

Abstract

ObjectivesEpicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is closely adjacent to the coronary arteries and myocardium, its role as an endocrine organ to affect the pathophysiological processes of the coronary arteries and myocardium has been increasingly recognized. However, the specific gene expression profiles of EAT in coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been well characterized. Our aim was to investigate the role of EAT in CAD at the gene level.MethodsHere, we compared the histological and gene expression difference of EAT between CAD and non-CAD. We investigated the gene expression profiles in the EAT of patients with CAD through the high-throughput RNA sequencing. We performed bioinformatics analysis such as functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network construction to obtain and verify the hub differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the EAT of CAD.ResultsOur results showed that the size of epicardial adipocytes in the CAD group was larger than in the control group. Our findings on the EAT gene expression profiles of CAD showed a total of 747 DEGs (fold change >2, p value <0.05). The enrichment analysis of DEGs showed that more pro-inflammatory and immunological genes and pathways were involved in CAD. Ten hub DEGs (GNG3, MCHR1, BDKRB1, MCHR2, CXCL8, CXCR5, CCR8, CCL4L1, TAS2R10, and TAS2R41) were identified.ConclusionEpicardial adipose tissue in CAD shows unique gene expression profiles and may act as key regulators in the CAD pathological process.

Obesity and diabetes are major risk factors for epicardial adipose tissue inflammation

“…A key finding is that once underlying cardiovascular risk factors are balanced, we have demonstrated no differences in the inflammatory profile between severe versus nonsevere CAD. Some previous publications ( 15 , 27 , 28 ) have reported the EAT of patients with significant CAD to have a unique inflammatory profile. However, it is noteworthy that many of these reports failed to control for other important cardiometabolic conditions, such as diabetes and overweight/obesity ( 16 – 18 ), or those predominantly affecting lean individuals ( 28 ), which are not typical of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.…”

“…Some previous publications ( 15 , 27 , 28 ) have reported the EAT of patients with significant CAD to have a unique inflammatory profile. However, it is noteworthy that many of these reports failed to control for other important cardiometabolic conditions, such as diabetes and overweight/obesity ( 16 – 18 ), or those predominantly affecting lean individuals ( 28 ), which are not typical of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A significant strength of our work is that the large patient cohort allowed propensity matching to be performed, reducing bias between our patient groups.…”

Understanding the impact of left atrial epicardial adipose tissue thickness on atrial fibrillation: A literature review

“…EAT has been implicated in the pathogenesis of CAD. Increased EAT volume has been associated with atherosclerosis, possibly due to the release of pro-atherogenic factors that promote vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Single-nucleus transcriptomics of epicardial adipose tissue from females reveals exercise control of innate and adaptive immune cells

“…Thus, there is a critical need to advance knowledge focused on the pathogenesis and management of CAD in women. In humans, 80% of the heart surface area is covered by epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) which secretes cytokines to modulate physiological and pathophysiological processes in the coronary arteries and myocardium (3, 4). Moreover, EAT is involved in the breakdown of fatty acids, serving as a local energy source for cardiomyocytes during periods of increased energy demand (5).…”