Cardiovascular Mechanobiology and Nanomedicine

Using -OMICs approaches to understand how flow regulates cardiovascular diseases

Our lab studies the mechanisms by which blood flow regulates endothelial biology and dysfunction, which leads to atherosclerosis and aortic valve calcification. In addition to in vitro (a cone-and-plate bioreactor) systems, the lab also developed an in vivo model (a mouse partial carotid ligation model) in conjunction with OMICs approaches to understand how disturbed flow vs. stable flow differently regulate vascular and valve endothelial biology and pathobiology at the genome-, epigenome-, and metabolome-wide level. With these methods, we have been able to carry out several OMICs studies that have allowed us to identify mechanosensitive mRNAs, microRNAs, epigenetic DNA methylome, metabolites, and long non-coding RNAs (on-going work).  These genome-, epigenome- and metabolome-wide OMICs studies have guided us not only to identify mechanosensitive genes, metabolites and epigenetic changes, but to demonstrate the critical role that some of these flow-sensitive molecular transducers play a role in controlling endothelial biology, atherosclerosis and aortic valve disease