Shear Stress Conditioning Promotes a Pro-Inflammatory Response in Porcine Endocardial Endothelial Cells

PURPOSEDiscrete subaortic stenosis (DSS) is a congenital heart disease characterized by a narrowing of the passage below the aortic valve in the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) [1]. While endocardial endothelial cells (EECs) are known to play a role in DSS, the response of these cells to shear stress is not known. In this study, we hypothesize that the response of EECs to shear stress in the LVOT is a mediator of DSS. METHODSTo test this hypothesis, we conditioned porcine EECs to controlled shear stress regimes using cone and plate bioreactors. Subsequently, we quantified the concentration of proinflammatory cytokine in the conditioned media using the Luminex assay. Bulk-RNA sequencing was used to quantify changes in the genotype of the shear stress conditioned EECs. RESULTSThe expression of CD31 was knocked down and subsequently, the changes in release of shear stress induced proinflammatory cytokines released by EECs quantified using the Luminex assay. The results of these studies show that the inflammatory cytokines were highly selected in the conditioning medium, and under bioreactor treatment the cell activated the PI3K-AKT and TNF-a signaling, which also triggered the other immune cell responses though Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell differentiation pathways. Furthermore, CD31 was identified as a mediator of the pro-inflammatory response of shear stress conditioned EECs. CONCLUSIONSThe studies provide a clear link between shear stress, and the subsequent proinflammatory response of EECs as a mediator of DSS.