Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Circulating APOH promotes aortic dissection by activating the vascular smooth muscle cell NR5A1–PPARγ pathway

doi: 10.64898/2026.07.16.739043

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A, B) Volcano plots of differentially expressed genes and proteins from plasma exosome RNA-seq and proteomics, respectively; red dots represent upregulated genes/proteins, blue dots represent downregulated genes/proteins, with TOP10 differentially expressed genes/proteins labeled. (C) Heatmap of APOH and other differentially expressed genes. (D) Venn diagram illustrating the concordant changes between transcriptomic and proteomic data. (E) Plasma APOH levels in AD patients versus normal controls (ELISA) ( n = 10). (F) APOH mRNA expression in AD versus normal control aortic tissues (qRT-PCR) ( n = 4). (G) APOH protein expression in aortic tissues (WB) ( n = 5). (H) Representative images of H&E staining, EVG staining, Masson’s trichrome staining, and APOH IHC and IF of aortic tissues ( n = 6).

Article Snippet: Subsequently, cells were treated with angiotensin II (Ang-II, Tocris, UK, Cat# 1158), recombinant APOH protein (MedChem Express, USA, Cat# HY-P7533) at 1 μg/ml, or respective vehicle control (culture medium).

Techniques: Clinical Proteomics, RNA Sequencing, Labeling, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Expressing, Control, Quantitative RT-PCR, Staining

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Circulating APOH promotes aortic dissection by activating the vascular smooth muscle cell NR5A1–PPARγ pathway

doi: 10.64898/2026.07.16.739043

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schematic illustration of the experimental protocol. (B) qPCR results demonstrating reduced expression efficiency in mouse liver (n = 4). (C) Apoh levels in circulating plasma of mice (n = 10). (D) KM survival curves; number at risk at each time point is shown below (n = 15). (E) Representative gross images of ascending aortas. (F) Incidence of AD across experimental groups. (G) Representative B-mode ultrasound images of ascending aortic diameter (mm) with measurement regions indicated in green, and corresponding quantitative analysis (n = 6). (H) Dynamic changes in serum TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels at 1 and 4 weeks (n = 10). (I) Representative images of H&E, EVG, and Masson’ s trichrome staining, and DAPI/Sm22/Apoh triple immunofluorescence of aortic tissues; right panels: quantification of elastic fiber, collagen, and Apoh fluorescence intensity (n = 6).

Article Snippet: Subsequently, cells were treated with angiotensin II (Ang-II, Tocris, UK, Cat# 1158), recombinant APOH protein (MedChem Express, USA, Cat# HY-P7533) at 1 μg/ml, or respective vehicle control (culture medium).

Techniques: Expressing, Clinical Proteomics, Staining, Immunofluorescence, Fluorescence

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Circulating APOH promotes aortic dissection by activating the vascular smooth muscle cell NR5A1–PPARγ pathway

doi: 10.64898/2026.07.16.739043

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) WB validation of AAV sh-Apoh knockdown efficiency and its effects on VSMC phenotypic markers Opn, Acta2, and Tagln (n = 4). (B) Transcriptome sequencing results from mouse aortic tissues (n = 5), volcano plot of differentially expressed genes: blue dots represent downregulated genes (1,099), gray dots represent non-significant genes (78,817), red dots represent upregulated genes (804). (C) Representative results of GO enrichment analysis: significantly enriched terms in biological process (BP), cellular component (CC), and molecular function (MF). (D) Representative results of KEGG pathway enrichment analysis; red indicates high significance. (E) Enrichment analysis of PPAR signaling pathway: green line represents enrichment curve; bar plot shows associated genes. (F) Sequence analysis of NR5A1 binding site in PPARγ promoter region. (G) Protein-protein interaction network of APOH with PPARγ, NR5A1, and VSMC phenotypic markers.

Article Snippet: Subsequently, cells were treated with angiotensin II (Ang-II, Tocris, UK, Cat# 1158), recombinant APOH protein (MedChem Express, USA, Cat# HY-P7533) at 1 μg/ml, or respective vehicle control (culture medium).

Techniques: Biomarker Discovery, Knockdown, Sequencing, Binding Assay

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Circulating APOH promotes aortic dissection by activating the vascular smooth muscle cell NR5A1–PPARγ pathway

doi: 10.64898/2026.07.16.739043

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) IHC staining showing expression of Nr5a1, Ppar γ, and Fabp4 in aortic tissues from different groups (n = 4); quantitative analysis shown on the right. (B) WB and quantitative analysis: Effects of Ang-II and APOH treatment on expression of VSMC phenotypic markers (ACTA2, TAGLN, OPN, MMP9) (n = 4). (C) WB and quantitative analysis: Regulatory effects of APOH on downstream proteins and VSMC phenotypic markers after knockdown of NR5A1 or PPARγ (n = 4). (D) ChIP validation of direct binding between NR5A1 and PPARγ promoter: sonication efficiency, PCR electrophoresis, and relative enrichment analysis (n = 3).

Article Snippet: Subsequently, cells were treated with angiotensin II (Ang-II, Tocris, UK, Cat# 1158), recombinant APOH protein (MedChem Express, USA, Cat# HY-P7533) at 1 μg/ml, or respective vehicle control (culture medium).

Techniques: Immunohistochemistry, Expressing, Knockdown, Biomarker Discovery, Binding Assay, Sonication, Electrophoresis

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Circulating APOH promotes aortic dissection by activating the vascular smooth muscle cell NR5A1–PPARγ pathway

doi: 10.64898/2026.07.16.739043

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Quantitative PCR analysis of inflammatory cytokine (Tnf-α, Il-6, Mcp1) mRNA expression levels in aortic tissues from different experimental groups (n = 4). (B) qPCR validation of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-6, MCP1) expression in HAVSMC under APOH treatment and NR5A1/PPARγ knockdown conditions (n = 4). (C) Schematic illustration of the experimental design protocol. (D) KM survival curve analysis; number of animals at risk at each time point shown below the graph (n = 15). (E) Incidence rates of AD across experimental groups. (F) Representative gross anatomical images of ascending aortas from different groups. (G) Representative B-mode ultrasound images of ascending aortic diameter (mm) with measurement regions indicated by green boxes, and corresponding quantitative analysis (n = 6). (H) Representative images of aortic cross-sections stained with H&E, EVG for elastic fibers, and Masson’s trichrome; right panels show quantitative analysis of elastic fiber integrity and collagen deposition (n = 4).

Article Snippet: Subsequently, cells were treated with angiotensin II (Ang-II, Tocris, UK, Cat# 1158), recombinant APOH protein (MedChem Express, USA, Cat# HY-P7533) at 1 μg/ml, or respective vehicle control (culture medium).

Techniques: Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Expressing, Biomarker Discovery, Knockdown, Staining