Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Endothelial cells (EC) act as professional sensors of shear stress, the frictional force of blood flow. In the absence of laminar (healthy) blood flow, ECs undergo changes in gene expression of protein-coding genes that can predispose the blood vessel to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms. However, whether shear stress influences the non-coding transcriptome, particularly for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), is not well understood. LncRNAs are defined as transcripts >200 nucleotides lacking protein-coding potential that are increasingly recognized as important effectors of gene regulation. We have identified an EC-enriched lncRNA, termed STEEL, that is upregulated by the absence of laminar flow to promote angiogenesis and vessel maturation both in vitro and in vivo. To comprehensively study the effects of shear stress on EC lncRNAs, five independent HUVEC lines were subjected to static (no flow) or laminar flow (10 dynes/cm2, 48 hours) using a parallel-plate flow chamber. RNA was analyzed using a microarray to profile 30,586 lncRNAs. In brief, 394 (3.2%) and 324 (2.7%) lncRNAs were upregulated or downregulated, respectively (≥2 fold vs. static, p
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Aravin N. Sukumar
Language: English
Subfield: Cancer Research
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3169685865