Circulating delta-like Notch ligand 1 is correlated with cardiac allograft vasculopathy and suppressed in heart transplant recipients on everolimus-based immunosuppression
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https://hdl.handle.net/10037/15202Date
2018-10-12Type
Journal articleTidsskriftartikkel
Author
Norum, Hilde Margrethe; Michelsen, Annika; Lekva, Tove; Arora, Satish; Otterdal, Kari; Olsen, Maria Belland; Kong, Xiang Yi; Gude, Einar; Andreassen, Arne K.; Solbu, Dag; Karason, Kristjan; Dellgren, Göran; Gullestad, Lars; Aukrust, Pål; Ueland, ThorAbstract
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) causes heart failure after heart transplantation (HTx), but its pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Notch signaling, possibly modulated by everolimus (EVR), is essential for processes involved in CAV. We hypothesized that circulating Notch ligands would be dysregulated after HTx. We studied circulating delta‐like Notch ligand 1 (DLL1) and periostin (POSTN) and CAV in de novo HTx recipients (n = 70) randomized to standard or EVR‐based, calcineurin inhibitor‐free immunosuppression and in maintenance HTx recipients (n = 41). Compared to healthy controls, plasma DLL1 and POSTN were elevated in de novo (P < .01; P < .001) and maintenance HTx recipients (P < .001; P < .01). Use of EVR was associated with a treatment effect for DLL1. For de novo HTx recipients, a change in DLL1 correlated with a change in CAV at 1 (P = .021) and 3 years (P = .005). In vitro, activation of T cells increased DLL1 secretion, attenuated by EVR. In vitro data suggest that also endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) could contribute to circulating DLL1. Immunostaining of myocardial specimens showed colocalization of DLL1 with T cells, endothelial cells, and VSMCs. Our findings suggest a role of DLL1 in CAV progression, and that the beneficial effect of EVR on CAV could reflect a suppressive effect on DLL1.
Description
This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Norum, H.M., Michelsen, A.E., Lekva, T., Arora, S., Otterdal, K., Olsen, M.B. ... Ueland, T. (2018). Circulating delta‐like Notch ligand 1 is correlated with cardiac allograft vasculopathy and suppressed in heart transplant recipients on everolimus‐based immunosuppression. American journal of transplantation, 19(4), 1050-1060, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.15141. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.