Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome as a model for vascular aging.
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a premature aging disorder caused by a de novo genetic mutation that leads to the accumulation of a splicing isoform of lamin A termed progerin. Progerin expression alters the organization of the nuclear lamina and chromatin. The life expectancy of HGPS patients is severely reduced due to critical cardiovascular defects. Progerin also accumulates in an age-dependent manner in the vascular cells of adults that do not carry genetic mutations associated with HGPS. The molecular mechanisms that lead to vascular dysfunction in HGPS may therefore also play a role in vascular aging. The vascular phenotypic and molecular changes observed in HGPS are strikingly similar to those seen with age, including increased senescence, altered mechanotransduction and stem cell exhaustion. This article discusses the similarities and differences between age-dependent and HGPS-related vascular aging to highlight the relevance of HGPS as a model for vascular aging. Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from HGPS patients are suggested as an attractive model to study vascular aging in order to develop novel approaches to treat cardiovascular disease.
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Wong Building, 3610 University Street, Montréal, QC, H3A 0C5, Canada.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Jonathan A
JA
Brassard
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Wong Building, 3610 University Street, Montréal, QC, H3A 0C5, Canada.
Natalie
N
Fekete
Department of Chemical Engineering, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Alain
A
Garnier
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Wong Building, 3610 University Street, Montréal, QC, H3A 0C5, Canada. corinne.hoesli@mcgill.ca.
Corinne A
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5629-7128
CA
Hoesli
D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011371:Progeria / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome; Induced pluripotent stem cells; Mechanotransduction; Senescence; Stem cells; Vascular aging